


Loki: The Burden of the Throne

by AJD52376



Category: Loki - Fandom, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Avenger Loki (Marvel), Good Loki (Marvel), King Loki (Marvel), Marvel Universe, Protective Loki (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:01:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 86,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26927806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AJD52376/pseuds/AJD52376
Summary: Loki and Thor are preparing for the Asgardian festival celebrating family when while hunting together in the forests of Asgard, Thor is attacked and grievously wounded by unknown assailants. Loki is left to unravel the mystery while at the same time sensing that the event has caused a fundamental change in the universe.  The events of Loki: The Burden of the Throne take place prior to those of the first Thor movie.
Comments: 18
Kudos: 75
Collections: Loki





	1. Chapter 1

"Remind me again why we're doing this." Loki said in a mildly irritated tone to Thor, both he and his brother dressed in Asgardian hunting frocks of brown and forest green. Each brother had awakened before dawn, far earlier than Loki preferred and typically began his day, already putting him in a prickly mood from the outset, and had entered the forest of Asgard just after the sun had risen with a quiver of arrows and a bow slung across their backs. Having found what Thor considered a promising location to lay in wait, they rested prone on the soft detritus that carpeted the forest floor, peering over a moss covered trunk of a fallen tree.

It was the eve of Kynsblot, Asgard's yearly celebration of family. It was one of the more minor holidays of the Asgardian calendar compared to the midyear solstice and Jul festival, though still considered an important rite. Each year on this day since they were of age to do so the brothers ventured into the forest to hunt for the meat that would grace their table the next day for the feast.

Loki reveled in the pomp and ceremonial splendor that accompanied such celebrations but he had never been much into the sport, though he was an able huntsman and would in no case starve if he were ever to find himself forced into a survival situation, at least if there were game to be had. He was more than satisfied to allow those whose task it was to procure food for the royal table to do their duty. He had better things to do. Spying an arachnid type creature crawling up Thor's back towards his shoulder, another reminder of why he detested the activity in which they were currently engaged, Loki reached out, flicking it away.

"Remind me again why I have to answer this same question on this day each year. It's tradition and traditions are important-" Thor replied before Loki interrupted.

"For the unity of Asgard and to connect us with each other and our ancestors, etcetera, etcetera...yes, I know." Loki stated.

"If you know, then why do you continue to ask?" Thor queried.

"It's tradition." Loki answered.

"There are some traditions that can be dispensed with." Thor said before his ears perked up at the sound of rustling in the vegetation yards in front of them, moving in their direction.

Gesturing to Loki to be silent and pointing in the direction of the sound, which was far from necessary as Loki also had working ears that were keenly tuned, Thor quietly removed an arrow from his quiver, notching it in his bow, Loki following suit.

Making their way towards them through the forest, sniffing the air warily, came two hjorts, creatures very much like red deer. One was a stag, full grown but still somewhat young, but with an impressive rack for its age.

"I have the one on the left." Thor whispered to Loki. Loki nodded, aiming his arrow at the other.

Thor pulled back on his bow just as Loki was preparing to let his arrow fly, the elbow of Thor's muscular arm nudging Loki's enough to throw off Loki's aim. Thor's arrow lodged itself into the hjort, a clean shot to the heart, while Loki's arrow zipped past his quarry where it stuck itself into a tree, sending the surviving hjort leaping and bounding away.

"You oaf!" Loki exclaimed, perturbed.

"I'm sorry, brother." Thor apologized.

"No you're not." Loki said, laying his bow down and rising, stepping over the fallen tree, walking past the lifeless body of the stag to the tree from which his errant arrow protruded to reclaim it. Thor followed and knelt by the stag to ensure it had breathed its last.

"We could wait for another or should we dress the one now and return?" Thor asked, reasonably sure what Loki's answer would be.

"What's this 'we?' It's your kill. Considering Volstagg will be with his own family and it will be only the four of us, I suppose one will do." Loki said, impatient to return home. Loki enjoyed the forest and its peaceful setting, he had since his childhood, but he disliked the idea of being forced to lie still and silent for what could be hours until another hjort happened by. Thor pulled a knife from its sheath at his waist and began to slice open the abdomen of the creature. Loki stood a few feet to the rear of Thor, looking on in disgust and brooding as Thor field dressed the dead hjort.

Once again, Thor would return to the palace triumphant. Loki also knew that in the very near future Thor was likely to again be victorious. Odin had recently announced that the ceremony in which he would declare his choice of heir to the throne of Asgard would take place in two weeks. Loki had no doubt which of the two of them his father's favor would fall upon. He'd had no doubts about it for quite some time and was sure no one else had any either. He questioned whether his father should even bother to go through the trouble of putting on a show of it as if he hadn't already decided ages ago. If he was to be humiliated in front of a throng, Loki would prefer for once that his father dispense with formality.

The knowledge of what he was sure was soon to come to pass had sent him into a funk. There was no longer any time remaining in which to prove himself to Odin, the sand had run out of the hourglass, though he doubted no matter what he would or would not have done it would have made any difference. Odin had always favored Thor, it was evident to Loki from his earliest memories, though his father's favor had become more pronounced as they grew to manhood and it became clear Thor was far more the image of his father in his younger days, and the image most others had of a king with his broad muscular frame, golden hair and resonant voice along with his warrior mindset to rush in where angels would fear to tread. There had been a time when Loki had been a child of tender years when Odin had attempted somewhat to obfuscate it, though Loki had always been far too intelligent not to pick up on it even then. He had even been surly, snippy and short with his mother as of late, though he had been quick to apologize which was seldom the case with Loki when it came to anyone else including his father. In Loki's view, if he was churlish with someone, obviously they had it coming, having done or said something to deserve it and should have known better so why should he be in the least apologetic for a natural reaction to their affront?

He knew that a large part of the tradition he and Thor were then engaging in was to renew and strengthen the bonds between them, yet it always seemed to have the opposite effect. In past years, the best that had happened was that he bagged his own beast for the table, both returning to the palace equally accomplished but he had never returned as the conquering champion and Thor empty handed. This day especially the intended purpose was not to be realized as it only reminded him of Thor's likely approaching designation as heir.

When that day came, what was there left for Loki? There was no formal role for the 'spare' spelled out. Of course once on the throne Loki was sure Thor would find something for him to do to occupy himself, but it would feel like charity and mere busywork. He would be but a footnote in Asgard's history, merely the brother of Thor and no one of any renown or significance in his own right of whom anyone would take any note. They had played together as children, fought various foes together as they came of age to do so yet as time continued to pass they grew further distant from each other simply due to the nature of their position as princes of Asgard vying for their father's favor and the throne.

Would things be different between them had they been born to no one of any special significance Loki sometimes wondered. Perhaps not, aside from the natural competition engendered by their positions, they were also two very different people seemingly in every way imaginable...physically, intellectually, in their temperament and their skills and interests. In fact, it was hard for Loki to believe at times that they shared the same parentage. It was a sentiment he had heard voiced by others when they were unaware that he was listening...and Loki was always listening. Unlike Thor, he had learned long ago that the best way to learn and gain an advantage was to merely shut up and listen. Often when one did so, others forgot one was even present and their tongues were loosened.

As Loki continued to watch Thor at his work, he suddenly felt a strange sensation wash over him, as if a tiny bell of warning deep within his brain had begun to ring, as if something were in the process of changing. It was akin to a railroad switch being thrown, the train that had been chugging along on one set of rails being transitioned to another, though of course Loki himself would not have made that analogy. Trains were an archaic means of transport to be found only in the backwards, underdeveloped realm of Midgard, a realm Loki rarely gave any thought to as they had little contact with its people, very few of its inhabitants aware of their and Asgard's existence, thinking them to be mere colorful and imagined characters of ancient myth and fiction. The feeling that something was 'off,' not quite right, continued and grew stronger, nagging at Loki.

"Brother...I think something's-" Loki began to say, not sure how he was going to explain what he was experiencing without sounding mad, when all of a sudden three figures clothed in what looked to be white form fitting body suits with masks over their faces appeared between him and Thor. Another appeared behind Loki, placing something cold and metallic on the back of his neck. Before he could react, Loki felt a shock travel down his spine and found himself unable to move or speak. He watched helplessly as one of the three figures grasped in one hand the hilt of what appeared to be a short sword.

Before Thor became aware of their presence and could react, the figure with the short sword ran Thor through with the blade, back to front, before withdrawing the sword. Thor, though in pain and seriously injured, blood running down his torso and back from the entrance and exit wound, rose swiftly to his feet to face his attacker. The two accompanying the assailant grabbed hold of Thor's muscular upper arms, one on each side, but they were no match for Thor's strength, even while wounded. Thor, enraged, with a roar of anger and pain, shook off the two figures and taking hold of an arm of each, bashed them violently together into one another, their heads colliding with a deep hollow sound like a watermelon or pumpkin hitting concrete, the two figures slumping to the ground from which they failed to rise. The figure holding the sword seemed to simply wink out of existence. Loki felt the device that had been attached to the back of his neck withdrawn, he regaining his ability to move, and quickly turned to see the figure behind him do the same.

"Brother!" Loki exclaimed in shock after returning his attention to Thor as he witnessed Thor put a hand to the exit wound on his abdomen, the front of his hunting clothes now stained red with blood, the stain continuing to spread in an ever widening circle before he collapsed to his knees. Loki rushed to his side. Soon another joined him, Loki looking over to see Heimdall.

"We must get him to the healing room!" Heimdall exclaimed, putting an arm around Thor, Loki doing the same on Thor's other side, both men moving Thor's arms across their shoulders and raising the God of Thunder to his feet as Thor's head hung down as if his neck was no longer strong enough to support its weight.

"Who were they? Where did they come from?" Loki asked Heimdall.

"I don't know. The bodies of the two your brother sent to Hel may provide us with answers." Heimdall replied.

******************************************

Thor lay on the soul forge in the healing room, a middle aged female healer working with the mechanisms of the forge. Odin, Frigga and Loki stood across the room, giving the healer and her assistants space to work. Odin watched the activity around his son stone faced, though his despair could be discerned in his lone remaining eye. Frigga's sorrow was far more apparent as tears coursed down her cheeks, her hand splayed over her mouth as she attempted to stifle her sobs at the sight of her gravely injured son. Loki wrapped a comforting arm around her looking towards the soul forge and its occupant with an uncharacteristic expression of great concern along with lingering shock at the surprise attack. Why had they left him alive and uninjured, merely rendering him immobile?

Sif, Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun entered the healing room, looking over at Thor as he lay unconscious upon the soul forge as they made their way to stand nearby Frigga, Loki and Odin. All four wore expressions of disbelief and distress though Sif's was even more pronounced. Unlike Frigga, she shed no tears though Loki could tell she was on the verge as she swallowed hard witnessing Thor lying as pale and still as death and the frantic activity of the healer and her assistants surrounding him.

"What the hell happened?" Fandral asked.

"We were attacked in the forest. We were taken by surprise." Loki answered.

"By who?" Volstagg queried.

"I hope to soon have an answer to that question." Loki replied, knowing Heimdall had already returned to the forest to retrieve the bodies of their assailants and would hopefully discover a clue to their identity. Loki noticed Sif glance at him with what Loki could only interpret to be hostility. "They used some sort of device. I was rendered immobile, unable to come to his aid." Loki said, more to Sif than the others as he felt her expression reflected a belief that he had neglected to help his brother or had hesitated to do so out of cowardice.

An assistant to the healer, far younger than she, left the healer's side and approached the group that now lined up along the wall on the opposite side of the room. She looked at Odin but addressed all those assembled.

"The wound will not heal and the natural healing process appears to be arrested as well. We're not sure why. It's possible the blade was contaminated with a toxin of some kind. We're attempting to discover what it may be. We have been able to stop the bleeding, at least for the moment."

"Will he live?" Frigga asked, her voice strained with emotion. The assistant's shoulders drooped slightly, perhaps imperceptibly to the others, though Loki with his keen eyes that took note of the smallest details noticed. Trepidation grew within him as he knew that couldn't be a good sign.

"We're doing everything we can. He's in the best of hands." The assistant answered the Queen of Asgard with what Loki recognized to be an obvious dodge. She turned away from those assembled and hastened back to the healer's side.

"My son…" Frigga said as she wept, Loki pulling her closer and more securely against him, moving his other arm around her to lend her what little comfort he could give her in her profound anguish.


	2. Chapter 2

There was little more that the healer, Ragna, could do. She had stabilized Thor as much as possible and he had been moved to his bedchambers to rest in his own bed to heal or to await what Ragna feared...no, what she knew if a miracle of some sort did not occur was inevitable. She could not, however, bring herself to voice her prognosis to her king and queen. She had been wrong in the past, though only a scant handful of times over the millennia. There was good reason why Odin had appointed her to her position as personal healer to the royal family and those who served him.

The wound itself should have been relatively quick and easy to repair and with Thor's own Asgardian physiology to assist, and his strength and resilience surpassing even other Asgardians, he should have already been on the road to a relatively speedy recovery. Yet the wound had not responded to treatment which would have closed it within minutes under normal circumstances and showed absolutely no signs of natural healing. In fact, the tissue surrounding it appeared to be necrotizing.

Unlike Loki, Ragna had always found Midgard to be a fascinating realm and had received permission from Odin to spend time there in the past incognito, learning of their methods of dealing with human illness and trauma. Though their methods were primitive and their knowledge paled in comparison to her own, they did manage to achieve positive results in many cases which she found astounding. She had finally resorted to sending one of her assistants to her chambers to fetch for her a Midgardian surgical kit that she had acquired as a sort of artifact and memento of her time there and had used the supplies and tools it contained to stitch closed the hemorrhaging vessels and the entrance and exit wound as if repairing a seam with a needle and thread. Yet if Thor's own body did not begin to mend, to knit his damaged flesh, vessels and organs back together, it would make no difference.

Ragna was stymied. She could find no residue of any kind around or within the wound or evidence in Thor's blood of any sort of toxin that would provide an explanation. There were only a few known substances in the universe that had that sort of effect and of those, fewer still that affected Asgardians. The only other explanation was magic. She, of course, was no practitioner of the art (though she knew that the people of Midgard would consider her methods of healing magical), though she was familiar with some of the possible lethal effects of different types. It was only those who practiced the blackest of magic, that drew energies from the darkest of dimensions to do their work that would dare use it to cause suffering and death, though there were of course exceptions for purposes of self defense. Of course magic left no residue, nothing that she could test in order to identify it or its source. All Ragna could do at this juncture was relieve Thor's pain and also hope for that miracle she knew must come if he were to survive.

Frigga sat vigil at Thor's bedside, watching his chest rise and fall with each breath, willing that there be another after it. He had yet to regain consciousness. Loki, still sporting the hunting clothes he'd been wearing upon his return to the palace with his injured brother and Heimdall, stood beside his mother. Frigga had placed her right hand on top of Thor's, her left arm crossed over her chest to rest her other hand atop Loki's that he had placed on her right shoulder. The scene reminded Loki somewhat of when his father entered the Odinsleep, Frigga during those times dutifully keeping watch over her husband, though that was generally not a life and death situation unless he were to put it off too long, though as Odin grew more aged the time between those necessary rests had grown shorter and there was more danger of him doing so as he was loathe to leave Asgard under the auspices of another, concerned that the moment he lay himself down to slumber that would be when a cataclysm of some sort would befall the realm. 

Sif sat on the other side of the bed also looking upon Thor with anxiety and anguish. Though she had never voiced it openly, Loki was well aware (it baffled him that no one else appeared to be, it was quite obvious to him anyway) that Sif's feelings for his brother went deeper than friendship, though to his knowledge Thor had never given her reason to believe that he returned the sentiment, that he viewed her as more than a close friend and comrade in arms, perhaps at best the sister he never had. Loki doubted that even if that changed Sif would be truly happy. If Thor were to survive and become king and she someday his queen, she would naturally be expected to carry out the duties of that position which included bearing him at least one heir. He simply could not envision Sif being willing, capable, or pleased to give up her life as a warrior, all she had worked so hard to achieve, to suckle an infant and raise them to adulthood. He doubted she had thought that far ahead and fully considered the matter.

Sif had continued to glance at Loki every so often with the same look in her eyes and expression as previously. Of course she would blame him for what happened. He was always the one to blame for everything since he was a child it seemed. She could believe what she wanted. He cared little what she thought. He knew the truth and that was all that mattered. It's not as if she had ever thought all that highly of him anyway. From the days of their childhood she had looked upon him and treated him with disdain. There had been times he had pulled pranks on Thor not just to get under his brother's skin or even primarily for that reason in some instances, but for the satisfaction of getting under hers as well, sort of a two for the price of one deal. As a child he would usually suffer a pummeling at her hands for doing so, but it had almost always been worth it. It was proof that he had succeeded in vexing her which had been his aim. The looks she was giving him led him to wish to do the same now as retaliation for them.

"Loki, Sif.." Hogun's voice said from the doorway to Thor's bedchambers. Loki and Sif both turned their heads towards him. "I've been sent to summon you to speak with Odin in his study." Loki nodded in acknowledgement.

"Go." Frigga said to Loki, sensing that he was reluctant to leave her side, patting his hand before removing hers from his own, now placing both of her hands over Thor's. Sif stood, walking around the bed towards the door at the same time Loki was making his way there.

"After you." Loki said to Sif, gesturing for her to go before him. He would have done so anyway, he was a gentleman after all as any Prince of Asgard should be, but her current demeanor towards him left him sure that the last thing he wanted at the moment was to expose to her his back.

***************** 

"The bodies of the assailants felled by Thor have been searched and examined. They were of Midgard." Heimdall stated as he stood beside Odin in the King of Asgard's study, looking upon Loki, Sif and the Warriors Three with his piercing golden eyes.

"Midgard? Mortals?" Loki asked.

"How is that possible?" Fandral questioned, bewildered.

"They have no ships or anything like the Bifrost in order to travel here. They are not even aware of our existence, nor that of any life outside their own realm." Hogun said.

"Obviously there are at least a few that are." Sif replied.

"But why would mortals want Thor's death? It makes no sense." asked Volstagg.

"We were children when you agreed to allow them to go their own way, to no longer be involved in their affairs." Loki said to Odin, appearing equally baffled at Heimdall's revelation. "They had to have been in league with someone from elsewhere, most likely promised something in exchange, someone who would have reason to wish my brother dead."

"Exactly." Sif said, looking to Loki with vitriol though she had spoken in agreement with him.

"But why seek out the assistance of mortals? They would be no match for any of us. My grandmother could take them on with one hand tied behind her back. What of those of Asgard exiled to Midgard? Could one of them be seeking revenge for their banishment?" Fandral inquired of Odin, though it was Sif that responded to his query.

"They would have motive but would lack the means. The mortals must have been allied with someone that does." Sif replied as she looked straight at Loki as if he were the only other in the room. Loki met her gaze, the two appearing to be staring each other down, neither wishing to be the first to concede and look away from the other. Odin, who had remained silent throughout the discussion, finally spoke.

"I have pondered these same possibilities, these same questions, and I have arrived at the same conclusion. An attempt to assassinate the-" Odin paused as if reconsidering his words, looking to Loki before continuing, "my son, a prince of Asgard is an act of war. I have not sought it out but it appears we must now be prepared for it."

"War? With who? Midgard?" Volstagg asked before chuckling. "That would be little different than crushing ants under our boots. Even the frost giants in their sorry state would be more of a challenge."

"I would advise that you do not underestimate the mortals of Midgard. Many fought by my side during the war with Jotunheim. But no, not Midgard. I do not believe this attack was carried out on behalf of their realm. Midgard as a whole is most likely ignorant of it." Odin responded to Volstagg.

"Who then?" asked Fandral.

"That is the question that remains to be answered." Odin replied.

"This was all that was found on either of their bodies." Heimdall said, producing and holding out to the others what looked like a business card. Loki took it from him, examining it.

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division? Phil Coulson?" Loki read from the card aloud. "What does it mean? Who is this son of Coul? Is he an Asgardian in exile?" Loki asked, passing the card back to Heimdall.

"No Asgardian by the name of Coul or a son of any bearing the name of Coul has ever been exiled to Midgard. It is possible that he could have adopted another name, but I believe he is likely mortal, his ancestors from the lands on Midgard where we once held sway, that for a time adopted many of our ways and were under my protection." Odin said. Loki thought back to his childhood when his father had taken him and Thor to Midgard on a visit. He and Thor had played with the mortal children of those lands. He had also played his fair share of tricks on both those children and adults alike. It had not posed much of a challenge, Loki finding them rather simple minded and easy to fool.

"This Strategic Homeland…all the rest of it. Obviously it's some sort of organization. Could he be their leader?" Sif asked.

"The numbers...are they his location? Some sort of coordinates?" Loki asked.

"They are what's called a 'phone number.' They are entered into a device mortals use to communicate with each other." Heimdall answered.

"We must go to Midgard and acquire one of these devices and find this son of Coul and learn from him who would be foolish enough to court war with Asgard." Volstagg said.

Thinking of Thor lying in his bed near death, his mother's grief, and reflecting on the helplessness he had felt while immobilized and that this Coulson could be responsible for it all, Loki felt the anger he had bottled up in his mother's presence and that had initially been displaced by shock and anxiety for his brother rising within him.

It was true he was jealous of his brother, that he had in the past injured Thor himself, intentionally and unintentionally while playing various pranks or simply out of that jealousy and anger, a few times even stabbing into Thor's flesh with his own daggers though the wounds were never too serious. He knew they would heal quickly even without the intervention of a healer, but it was no one else's place to do so. He had been forced to stand frozen in place to witness the attack as if he were an impotent, cowardly fool, which he was sure was what Sif believed him to be, likely doubting his explanation. Perhaps Fandral and the others believed the same and were merely far better at obfuscating it than Sif as the object of her affection fought for his life.

Loki agreed with Volstagg's assessment that this Coulson must be found, yet at the same time envisioned Sif and the Warriors Three bumbling their way along the streets of Midgard. It would have been humorous if not for the seriousness of the situation and how imperative it was to track down the man.

"We would not want to risk attracting attention by sending a group of us. Such a task should be simple enough for one and this Coulson more easily taken unaware. I'll go." said Loki.

"I have not yet decided our course of action." Odin responded. "If Thor…" Odin's voice slightly quavered upon uttering Thors name. Asgard's king paused before continuing. Loki looked to his father, stunned, though masking it. It was extremely rare for his father to display emotion in front of him or anyone else, with the exception in Loki's case of irritation, anger, and disappointment. "I have only two sons. I will consider our next move carefully. I will call you together again when I have made my decision." Odin told those gathered, dismissing them. The Warriors Three and Sif bowed their heads before making their way towards the door, Loki following. .

"I return to my watch." Heimdall said, following the others. The Warriors Three along with Sif walked along the corridor, Loki trailing them.

"My prince...Loki...a word, if I may." Heimdall said from behind them. Loki came to a halt and turned towards Asgard's gatekeeper as the others continued on their way. "I agree with you. Someone must go to Midgard and locate this Coulson. A warrior would not be best suited for the task. With your skills in magic and illusion you would be the one most likely to succeed in the endeavor. I wish to know how those responsible were able to slip by my watch. I will do all I can to convince your father."

"Thank you, good Heimdall." Loki responded, gobsmacked by Heimdall's vote of confidence. Heimdall walked past Loki as Loki watched him go. That same feeling that Loki had experienced in the forest just prior to the attack descended on him once again, that something was not as it should be, not quite right, that something had changed, shifted. It was somewhat similar to the feeling a mortal of Midgard would experience if they boarded the same bus they took each day only to realize after a minute or two that unbeknownst to them, the bus routes had been changed.

**********************

Loki entered his own chambers, past the Einherjar standing sentry outside the door who bowed his head at his Prince's approach. He wished to change out of his hunting clothes and into something more suitable before rejoining his mother at Thor's bedside. The moment he stepped through the door he sensed another presence within. Looking over the room, he saw her, dressed in the gown of a palace servant, seated on the cushioned chaise. Rising quickly, she started towards him with an expression of concern mixed with relief.

"Loki! Are you alright?"

"I was unharmed. Thor appears to have been their lone target. Verda...what are you doing here?" Loki said, sounding somewhat irritated.

"After I heard what had happened I had to see you." Verda extended her arms as if to embrace him but lowered them as he stared at her icily.

"You've seen me. You can go. I'm sure you have duties to attend to." Loki told the woman with the coppery brunette hair. She looked down at her feet, her shoulders slumping.

"I finished my work early. Why have you not visited me? You said that you would."

"I don't have the time nor the desire to discuss it. I only returned to change before I rejoin my mother at my brother's bedside, a matter I'm afraid takes precedence over the mewlings of a guileless chambermaid." Loki told her harshly, clearly annoyed by her presence. Verda was silent for a moment, stung by his words and his cold demeanor.

"It was you. You asked that I be reassigned."

"Of course it was me. It took you this long to reason it out?"

"Why….?"

"I thought it for the best."

"No, you were afraid. After we-" Verda began, Loki quickly interrupting her before she could finish.

"I fear nothing. I said I don't wish to speak of it. It's not the time. My brother is dying. Leave me."

"I was worried about you. Forgive me. I will trouble you no more. I was not aware you hated me so." Verda said, her head hanging as she started past him towards the door. Loki reached out, taking hold of her arm.

"I don't hate you." he said, his own head now hanging. "It would be easier if I did. I suppose I should be grateful that someone bothered to worry over the brother of Thor."

"I was not concerned for the brother of Thor. I was concerned for Loki Odinson." Verda said.

"Once all of this is over...I'll visit you. We'll talk then." Loki told her. Verda smiled as she kissed Loki's cheek before she exited his chambers.

*********************

"It's madness! You can't truly believe he….his own brother?" Volstagg sputtered, speaking to Sif. He, Hogun, Fandral and Sif sat around a large burning cauldron in what appeared to be a common room of the palace.

"Loki is certainly one for mischief, but not of that sort. That's something altogether different." said Fandral, though Sif could tell from his expression he wasn't entirely convinced by his own words.

"Fandral is right. It would not only be fratricide but treason against the throne." Hogun added.

"Who else would stand to benefit? The timing itself is suspicious. Odin was to announce the heir in two weeks time. Loki has to know that it's unlikely to be him. Loki has always been jealous of Thor! He's always coveted the throne! Do you remember as children how he used to play king? Order us to kneel before him? Why would they have left him alive, not run him through as well? Ragna says she believes the sword was enchanted by magic." said Sif.

"Yes, but Loki has never been involved with that sort, at least not to my knowledge. What you're saying could be considered treason. You could find yourself thrown in the dungeon...or exiled." Fandral warned.

"It's not treason if it's the truth." Sif replied.

"The truth may be what Odin wishes it to be. He has only two sons. If one were to fall, it would leave only one other to continue after him. If neither takes the throne, it will pass to another line. I don't know who that would be, I don't believe anyone does. When that happens a realm is weakened for a time until the new dynasty gains the respect of others. No one but Odin's ancestors have ever held the throne. That stability is part of what has led to our strength and renown across the universe. Our enemies would gather at the gate." Hogun explained.

"What do you plan to do? Do you plan to take your suspicions to Odin himself?" Fandral asked Sif.

"Not until I'm sure. I've already considered that Odin may believe what he wants to believe. I must tread carefully. I need proof. I plan to find this son of Coul and from him get the answers we seek. If Odin sends Loki to Midgard, I'm going with him."


	3. Chapter 3

Loki navigated the corridors from his own chambers to those of Thor. He had changed out of his hunting clothes and now was clad in a royal blue tunic with gold embellishments, one of the few more colorful choices in his wardrobe. He had initially reached for one of his many go-to dark to black colored ensembles but reconsidered his choice. Loki was well aware of the messages that were sent to others by one's clothing choices. On Asgard as was true of many cultures on Midgard as well, dark colors were often associated with mourning and death. The last message he wished to send to his mother or anyone else was that he was anticipating his brother's demise.

Most Asgardians preferred lighter colored shades for their clothing which reflected the generally joyful and contented nature of the realm's inhabitants. Loki was one of the few that did not, something that, among other traits, he was cognizant set him apart from the majority of Asgardians. With the exception of anything dripping in gold, he simply preferred darker hues, primarily black and deeper shades of green or blue, often the black accentuated with the others. They favored him, at least he thought so, and no one had ever told him any different. He also appreciated the air of mystery and the message to be wary, not to cross he who wore them that they signified.

Four einherjar stood sentry outside of Thor's chambers, three more than was customary, lined up before the door, blocking the entrance. They bowed their heads, shifting aside and opening the door for Loki to enter. He knew that there were two more posted directly outside of Thor's bedchambers. Odin was also currently flanked with more guards than usual. Why had his father not also assigned him a retinue of protectors? He supposed the fact that the assailants had already had their chance to fell him and had neglected to do so had something to do with it. If they had wanted him dead, he would already be in Valhalla. The question of why they hadn't taken the opportunity troubled him, not that he wasn't happy to have been left unscathed. It was obvious they wanted him alive. If they wished to disrupt the line of succession, if the attack on Thor was the start of an attempt at some sort of coup or conquest, surely it would have made far more sense to take out both contenders for the throne. The only explanation Loki could come up with was that either someone had a personal grudge against Thor or they wished to ensure that Loki would be the heir and soon take the sacred vows of kingship. If that were the case, someone felt Loki's rule would benefit them more than Thor's. But the assailants, at least the ones whose bodies had been left behind, were of Midgard. Why would they care? Why would this Coulson care? In any case, Loki had no intention of being anyone's useful idiot. He was not a puppet that would dance as another pulled the strings.

As he had expected, his mother had not moved from her position at Thor's bedside. He was, however, surprised to see that Sif had not returned as of yet, the chair placed on the other side of the bed sitting empty. There was another in the room however other than Frigga. Ragna had returned to check on her patient. She was now leaning over Thor, drawing back the sheet and smooth, velvety blanket that covered him to expose the bandage over the exit wound almost center of his abdomen, just slightly below his chest. Loki wordlessly returned to his mother's side, again placing his hand on her shoulder. Frigga did not look to him to acknowledge his presence, her eyes instead watching as Ragna pulled back the bandage to examine the wound.

Ragna did her best to remain stoic though she was clearly not entirely successful. Loki attempted to do the same for his mother's benefit, raising a closed fist to his mouth as if he were about to clear his throat to both obscure his expression of horror at least somewhat and also to block off his nostrils, the air now corrupted with the pungent odor of rot. Frigga gasped, raising one of her hands from atop Thor's to her mouth, tears beginning to flow copiously once again from her eyes as she quietly wept at the sight of the wound, the flesh around the stitched area blackened. Loki was sure he could see the blackness actually expanding, spreading outwards from the wound, Thor's tissue dying in front of his eyes.

"Mother...look away." Loki told Frigga quietly, moving his hand to her head and turning her face towards him. She buried her face into his side as she continued to weep. Ragna looked to be on the verge of sobbing herself as she re-covered the wound.

"There's little more I can do. I'm sorry, my Queen." Ragna said to Frigga, her voice breaking. Frigga turned her tear streaked face from Loki and reached out over Thor, grasping Ragna's hand.

"I know you've done everything you could do. Thank you." Frigga asked.

"I can attempt to wake him though it may only be for a short while if you wish to speak to him." Ragna said to Frigga, Loki fully aware that Ragna was offering her the opportunity to say her goodbyes to her son...and Loki to bid farewell to his brother.

"Will he be in any pain? Will he suffer?" inquired Frigga.

"No. I've relieved him of that burden. He should experience no discomfort." Ragna assured her queen. Frigga turned to Loki, peering up at him mournfully.

"Summon your father."

Loki nodded and left Frigga's side, exiting the bedchamber and turning to one of the einherjar standing guard outside the door.

"Summon the Allfather." Loki said, the einherjar to whom he spoke nodded and bowed his head before leaving his post. Loki turned to the other sentry that was present. "Find Sif as well as Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral. Tell them to come quickly." Loki ordered the guard who also nodded and bowed his head before following the first. Loki stood in the doorway of the bedchamber looking in at his grieving mother and dying brother in a daze.

Was this all a dream? If it was, that would explain the strange sensations of something not being right, not the way it should be. Yet if his mind was telling him it was a dream, why had he not awakened? In the past during his slumber in the midst of a dream, once recognizing it for what it was, he had rather quickly roused from it. If it were a dream, it was the most vivid and realistic he had experienced in his nearly fifteen hundred years of life.

He couldn't begin to count the many times over those years that his brother had vexed him, had been a thorn in his side, though in most cases unintentionally. It was that fact in itself that had often irritated him...his brother's naturally jovial attitude, his boisterous nature that drew others to him like moths to a flame, something that Loki, though a talented actor, had never been able to emulate. All eyes were always on Thor, everyone wanted to be in his presence, to bask in his glow, to heap praise upon him while Loki was at best tolerated. Whenever they had found themselves battling an enemy, a part of him had envisioned Thor being slain. Loki had himself often fantasized about ways to be rid of him who cast such an immense shadow that Loki could never escape its darkness. If he had ever truly wanted to do so, however, he could have long ago...it was unlikely Loki could ever best the God of Thunder in combat, though he could hold his own for a time at least, but there were other ways and as intelligent, clever and sly as Loki was, he would have had a good chance of getting away with it as well.

How could Thor have been brought down so easily in moments, he that had fearlessly taken on and bested so many perilous foes, and by mortals no less? It was definitely evidence of the immense value of the element of surprise, something Loki himself well knew the importance of as he employed it quite often to even the playing field to make up for the brawn Thor possessed that he lacked. Not that Loki wasn't physically strong...he was, deceptively so as many an enemy had learned firsthand, and his svelte frame allowed him agility and litheness and a sort of grace in battle that was absent from Thor's fighting style, but he would never be able to measure up to his brother in brute strength.

Loki had returned to his mother's side. Frigga wiped the tears from her eyes, attempting to put on a brave face along with a warm and comforting smile for her dying son in what was likely to be his last moments as an actor prepares to get into character before going on the stage.

Sif and the Warriors Three entered, their faces expressing sorrow and bewilderment. Despite their knowledge of the dire circumstances, they had up until that moment continued to believe that some way, somehow, Thor's strength and resilience would win out. Sif appeared especially distraught and dazed. It was not only her friend that was leaving them for an eternity in Valhalla but the man that she loved, her hopes dying along with him. Moments later, Odin made his entrance, standing by the foot of the bed, looking down on his ailing son.

"Fate has made its decree? All hope is lost?" Odin asked Ragna who stood behind Sif and the Warriors Three who had gathered on the opposite side of the bed from Frigga and Loki.

"It is so, my King." Ragna answered mournfully.

"So be it. I have no choice but to accept the universe's edict." Odin said as if proclaiming his own.

Ragna approached the bed, Sif and Fandral moving apart from each other to make room for her. She reached out, placing what looked like a smooth crystalline stone onto the center of Thor's forehead which began to glow a bright electric blue as those gathered looked on expectantly. Loki was the lone inhabitant of the room to lift his gaze from Thor, taking in the scene, having moved to stand behind Frigga, both of his hands resting on her shoulders, his eyes moving from Sif and the Warriors Three to his father.

If his and Thor's places were switched he couldn't help but wonder if there would be such a gathering surrounding him to see him off to Valhalla. Of course he could count on his mother and Thor being there and most likely his father as well, though he was reasonably sure only because his father would feel it was his duty to do so. Perhaps the others would make an appearance but he had the feeling it would be for a similar reason, not because they would truly be grieved at his passing and most likely more to support Thor than for Loki's sake. Loki had always felt alone in the universe, but perhaps never to the degree he did in that moment . He had up until now convinced himself that he didn't care, it didn't matter, he was perfectly capable of going it alone in life but now he found himself wavering in those convictions. He was also troubled by the fact that in what could be his brother's final minutes it was himself he was thinking about. If his mother knew, who had so often attempted to instruct him and modeled for him to put others before himself, she would be disappointed in him. An emotion overcame him that was rare for Loki….shame.

Thor's eyelids twitched, then fluttered. Ragna removed the apparatus from his forehead as his eyes slowly opened. Frigga grasped his hand tightly, looking down on her son with a loving smile.

"Mother…?" Thor asked, his voice raspy. Loki could not recall Thor ever before appearing so pale and sickly, his voice ever sounding so weak, its usual resonance gone.

"I'm here." Frigga answered still grasping Thor's hand, reaching out with her other to caress his clammy cheek.

"My son….your wound has proven to be mortal. Fate has decided that this day you will join your ancestors in Valhalla." Odin announced as if he were seated on the throne giving a proclamation. Odin's words echoed in Loki's head. None of it seemed real, it couldn't be real.

"I accept its verdict." Thor managed to say. It was at that moment that Loki truly knew that all hope had flown as Thor had never been one to surrender without a fight and concede defeat. "My friends…." Thor said, turning his head towards the opposite side of the bed. Sif had seated herself in the chair in which she had previously sat, taking Thor's other hand in her own.

Sif and the others spoke words of comfort, Sif for the first time in Loki's memory, or perhaps since childhood at least, shedding tears. It was then that Thor for the first time appeared to take notice of Loki's presence as he stood behind Frigga.

"Brother…." Thor said. Loki moved from behind Frigga to stand next to the bed. Thor removed his hand from Frigga's and reached out, taking hold of Loki's own, seeming to study Loki's face, looking into his eyes.

"I'm sorry, brother. If I had-" Loki began, Thor cutting him off.

"This was not your doing. Do not blame yourself. Your intellect far surpasses my own. You have a keen eye and are a careful judge. You will be a good king and a worthy successor to our father." Thor's words left Loki speechless for a moment.

"I will do all I can to prove myself deserving of your confidence." Loki finally responded. It was all he could do to hold his emotions in check but he refused to give the others, Sif especially, the satisfaction of seeing him dissolve into a blubbering mess. In his mind's eye he pictured the mountains of Asgard, the hard rock of which they were made and willed himself to be as they were, a mental trick he had developed long ago in the face of the taunts of Sif, Fandral and the others along with other children who had teased, mocked and derided him in his youth.

Frigga could no longer hold back her grief. Loki released Thor's hand, returning to stand behind her, as she again took hold of it.

"Mother….do not grieve. I go to a better place. We will be together again." Thor looked to all who gathered around him. "In time we will all be together again. Until that day..." Thor then rested his eyes upon Odin still standing at the foot of the bed. "Father...mother. Thank you for my life."

Thor's words proved to be his last. Shortly after uttering them, his eyes closed once again, this time in permanent slumber. It was Frigga who first realized that his breathing and his pulse, weak as it had been that she had felt in his hand as she gripped it, had both ceased.

"No!" Frigga wailed, rising and moving into the bed next to Thor, cradling her son in her arms.

Sif rose swiftly from her chair and rushed from the room as if it were in flames. Hogun, Fandral and Volstagg stood shocked and grieved, rooted motionless where they stood. Odin moved from the foot of the bed, walking around it towards Frigga but stopped as he reached Loki, reaching out and taking his arm. Loki, as if he were in a trance, slowly moved his head from where he stared down at his brother's corpse to look at his father.

"The burden of the throne falls to you now, my son. May you be worthy of it." Odin said before releasing Loki and continuing to Frigga. Standing by the bed, Odin reached out and placed his hand on Thor's forehead as Frigga continued to hold him. "Thor, my son, I bid you to take your place in the halls of Valhalla, where the brave live forever. Nor shall we mourn but rejoice for those who have died the glorious death." After Odin had finished reciting the blessing for the dead, the Warriors Three, their heads hanging, silently made their way out of the room. 

Loki exited Thor's chambers a few moments after them, leaving Odin and Frigga alone to grieve for their son, assuring Frigga that he would arrange for Thor's body to be moved and prepared for him to lie in state in the throne room the next day before his funeral the following evening. The Warriors Three and Sif stood gathered in the corridor. As Loki appeared, Sif turned to him, her face tear streaked, her eyes burning with anger.

"You got what you wanted, didn't you? What did you offer them? What was the price of your own brother's life?!" Sif cried in a fury, starting menacingly towards Loki. Loki expected her to be upset and grieving but was taken by surprise by her vehemence and her words. He had believed she blamed him for not acting to save Thor out of cowardice but now it was clear to him that it was more than that. He back peddled a couple of steps away from her as she approached before Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun took hold of her, pulling her back.

"She knows not what she says. It is not her but her grief that speaks." Hogun told Loki.

"You know...all of you know...I loved my brother dearly…"

"You loved him so dearly yet you cannot manage to shed even a single tear! Your heart is of ice!" Sif cried, Hogun and the others struggling once again to hold her back.

"I played my share of tricks, we had our disagreements, our squabbles, but I would never do such a thing. You must believe me." Loki said to Sif and the others, unsure what more he could possibly say to assuage her suspicion. In the state she was currently in, he was reasonably sure there were no words he could possibly utter that would do so. Not that he cared what Sif thought or believed, he told himself, but now more than ever, he knew he must find this Coulson and discover who was truly the guilty party. 

"We'll return her to her chambers and remain with her." Fandral said to Loki. Loki nodded, turning in the opposite direction as Sif, weeping, was led away by the others.

*********************

Loki entered his chambers as the sun was setting, the cauldrons having been lit. He thought of how he and his brother had left the palace and entered the forest as that same sun had just risen that morning, no idea of the tragedy that was about to befall them, how the day that had started out as any other, aside from Loki's earlier than usual rising, would end. Loki sank himself heavily into an armchair before the burning cauldron in the middle of the room, staring blankly into the dancing flames.

From beside him, a hand came to rest on his shoulder. Loki turned his head and looked up to see Verda.

"Thor?"

"My brother is dead."

"I'm sorry." Verda said softly, silence falling over them for a moment.

"I told you I would come to you." Loki said.

"Do you wish to be alone? Do you want me to go?" she asked. Loki was silent again for another moment, contemplating.

"No….stay." he replied. 

Verda sat herself in Loki's lap, taking his face in her hands, looking into his eyes before pressing her lips to his and then embracing him. Loki slowly moved his arms up to return the embrace, loosely at first before tightening his arms around her as if he were a drowning man grasping onto a buoy.

"You will be king…"

"I never wanted the throne...I believed I did….I know now that I only ever wanted to be his equal."

Verda moved out of Loki's arms and stood in front of him, extending her hand.

"You look tired. You should rest. I will see you to bed." said Verda. Loki looked at the hand she offered before reaching out and taking it, rising from the chair. She began to lead Loki towards the doorway to his bedchambers before she sensed his forward momentum stop. She turned towards him, Loki pulling her to him, wrapping his arms tightly around her as he lustfully kissed her.


	4. Chapter 4

Loki lay in his bed, staring at the ornately embellished ceiling of his bedchamber, the flickering flames from the burning cauldron along the far wall casting the room in dim, warm, orange light. A myriad of different emotions, none of them on the positive side of the spectrum, were reflected in his eyes. Verda lay on her side facing him under the silky soft sheets, propping her head on her arm, reaching out and tracing her index finger along his breastbone, down the center of his bare chest.

"This can't continue." he finally said, breaking his silence.

"What do you mean?" Verda asked, confused.

"I should never have allowed it to go this far. It's why I had you reassigned...after the first time. I thought that would be the end of it."

"I don't understand." Verda said, hurt and confusion in her voice. Unlike some kingdoms in the past and present throughout the universe, on Asgard a servant was as equally suitable a candidate for a prince or princess, a future king or queen, or another member of nobility. There was no shame in loving whomever one loved for their merits whether opposite sex or same sex and regardless of their station. Frigga, Loki's mother and Asgard's current queen, had not been born royalty and had first entered the palace as a simple lady of the court.

"I think you do. If my mother were to learn of it...far worse if my father were to do so. She supported your appointment even knowing who you are."

"I am not my sister. I'm nothing like her. I have not enchanted or bewitched you." Verda said to Loki, it clear from her tone that she disliked being linked with her sibling.

"I'm well aware of that which is why I wished to help you. I know all too well what it is to be forever compared and measured against another, to be trapped within their shadow. Of course the circumstances differed, but nonetheless….considering Lorelei's crimes, what she is capable of, you must know how it would look, especially now that I am to ascend the throne, what my mother and others might believe."

Lorelei, a highly skilled sorceress, was one of Asgards most infamous and dangerous criminals and a power hungry megalomaniac, though few would believe it upon seeing the petite and beautiful, harmless looking woman with the coppery brunette hair so much like Verda's own. She had spent the last six centuries a prisoner, sentenced by Odin to the dungeon, her ability to enslave the minds of men to fall madly in love with her and do her bidding simply by the sound of her voice curtailed by the collar she was forced now to wear around her neck at all times. The only man Sif had ever loved aside from Thor had been one of Lorelei's many victims and it had cost him his life. Loki thought the sorceress should actually consider herself lucky to be where she was. If she was not safely kept contained in her cell, it was unlikely she would still draw breath as Sif would have long ago had her head on a platter.

Loki had almost forgotten about Haldor, Sif's long ago lost lover. Sif had now lost not one but two men she had set her heart upon. The state she had been in when last Loki had seen her hours ago was even more understandable now. Loki recalled the enmity Sif bore Lorelei for the death of Haldor. He knew he was now looked upon by her with the same, if not an even deeper hatred, Sif believing him to have orchestrated Thor's demise. Perhaps his father should have assigned guards to see to his safety, Loki thought to himself.

Loki had met Verda in the tavern, she sitting alone looking forlorn. It wasn't in Loki's nature to care much about such things, few ever showed much care for or interest in him when he was in the same state after all, so why should he? However, something about her drew him to her and he had sat down beside her, striking up a conversation. He had learned of her story, how she was distrusted and shunned and even feared by others once they learned who her elder sister happened to be. Her story and her situation had struck a chord with Loki, he feeling a sort of kinship with her, both of them suffering through no fault of their own simply due to the identity of their sibling. He had spoken to his mother asking for Verda to be given a position in the palace. Pleased at Loki's display of altruism and due to her own and her desire to make her son happy, Frigga had agreed.

Verda had been assigned as a chambermaid to the area of the palace where Loki's own chambers were located. She had proven herself industrious and hard working, pleasing all who resided in the rooms under her purview with how well she kept them.

When one day after falling victim to another of Loki's pranks she had expressed an interest in his magical and illusionary abilities, he had out of curiosity and unbeknownst to her tested her aptitude and found her to have a natural foundation on which to build. He knew that his mother and certainly his father would disapprove and Loki himself, of course aware of her familial connection, questioned the wisdom of it, but what could it hurt to teach her a few simple tricks? Of course he had ended up teaching her far more than he had intended and loaning her books on the subject from his personal library for her own private study. To his knowledge, however, she had respected his request to refrain from speaking about or displaying her newly acquired abilities in the presence of others.

Loki could not recall the exact details of how things had ended up progressing so far but it had all started out innocently enough as is usually the case...a few good natured pranks, a bit of sport and fun and flirting that would be natural between two young people. Eventually it had escalated to Verda providing him with services that went beyond merely tidying his chamber and making sure all was in order. Things had gone on that way for some time, she seeing to certain of his needs without the two of them going so far as to actually be lovers in the strictest sense. It was the sort of casual, non-exclusive relationship that Loki generally sought, there seeming to be no expectations from either side of the equation, though uncharacteristically for him, he had begun to feel somewhat guilty after a time...surely she was not getting as much satisfaction out of the arrangement, though he had from time to time seen to her pleasure as well. But then the day had come when for whatever reason, perhaps something as simple as a particularly alluring scent she had worn that day, something of that nature paired with the longevity of their association, Loki wasn't quite sure, the line Loki had previously been so careful to toe had finally been crossed.

"Why should you care what your mother thinks? What anyone thinks? You're no longer a child. You're to rule Asgard. You're free to do what you please, to love who you wish." Verda replied.

"I'm the heir, I'm not yet the king."

"Do you truly believe Odin would deny you the throne? Would he pass you over for one of the cooks in the kitchen?"

"Perhaps he would if he thought them to be more worthy. You don't know my father...not as I know him." Loki responded in a grim tone. "As far as love is concerned...a mare and a stallion cross paths in a field and nature follows its course...is that love?" Loki asked. Verda was struck silent in disbelief of Loki's analogy.

"Is that all I am to you?" she finally asked in a quiet voice tinged with a hint of despair and disappointment. Turning away from him, she slid out of the bed, reclaiming her discarded gown from the floor and dressing. "I suppose in that case this mare should return to her own stable." she said haughtily though at the same time her tone reflecting the pain of the emotional wound Loki had inflicted.

"I'm sorry, that was rather crass." Loki said sitting up, by this time Verda had already donned her shoes and was making her way to the door of his bedchambers. Verda chuckled sarcastically.

"You are soon to be the King of Asgard but it appears you are already the king of understatement." 

"I meant only that anyone can do as we have done. That particular sentiment is far from necessary. I believe love requires more. I care for you, I do...but I don't think we're quite there yet." Verda continued on her way as he spoke, his words seeming to fall on deaf ears. She reached the doorway preparing to step through it. "Verda...wait." Loki called to her. Verda stopped and stood with her back to Loki before turning to face him.

"Earlier this day you told me to leave you, to go, displeased by my presence. Now you wish me to stay. You had told me you wished to be king yet now you claim you never wanted the throne. Do you even know what it is you want?"

"No, I don't. I thought I did. I'm not sure of anything anymore. I suppose that's not entirely true. There is one thing I'm certain of...I want this day to have been only a nightmare from which I'll soon wake. My brother...I-" Loki broke off, unable to continue, his voice breaking. He standing helpless and incapacitated as Thor was run through, Frigga's sorrow, Thor's last words to him, his brother's last moments of life as Loki watched him die, all the tragic events of that day replayed in his mind. He bowed his head, putting a hand to his mouth, stifling the sounds of his sobs that bubbled up out of him, unable any longer to hold them at bay, finally allowing his grief free reign over him.

Verda's expression transformed from one of hurt and anger to one of sympathy and sadness. Leaving the doorway, she approached Loki, sitting down on the edge of the bed near him, once again taking him comfortingly in her arms.

"It's because you do not desire it that you will be a good king."

*********************

The Kynsblot festivities had naturally been cancelled. Instead, Loki spent a long, arduous day in the throne room, watching as whole families of Asgardians filed through to view Thor's body laid out on his bier before the throne, Frigga standing near it as if a sentinel, accepting the condolences of the people. His father, who would be overseeing the funeral that evening once the sun had slipped below the horizon, had not yet made an appearance. The line of mourners stretched through the palace and into the plaza outside and beyond. Loki doubted there was a single soul alive on Asgard who had not already viewed his brother's corpse or did not wait among the crowds to do so. Thor lay on his bier, his hammer gripped in his hands, the head of it resting on his chest, appearing to merely be peacefully dozing. Loki could not help but think that perhaps Thor had slept thus in life. He wouldn't have doubted it.

Loki had managed to get a few hours of sleep after his emotional display, Verda returning to the bed to lie beside him until he at last succumbed to slumber. When he had awakened with the daylight he had found her gone. He had not seen her yet this day. Likely she was one of those waiting amongst the crowd, though she would not have needed to do so. Had she still been with him he would have taken her to have her own private viewing before the others had arrived and been permitted entrance as had Sif and the Warriors Three. Sif, though still in the throes of sorrow and grief, had appeared far more subdued than last he had seen her, paying little attention to Loki as he stood far to the side of the throne room near a gold leafed column . She had looked as if she had slept as little as he had and what sleep she'd gotten had been poor. Loki didn't look a great deal better, dark circles to match Sif's under his eyes.

The sounds of weeping and wails echoed throughout the expansive throne room. He could no longer endure the cacophony of mourning. Just as he was about to take his leave and exit through the entryway at the far side of the room into the corridor that led to his chambers, hoping perhaps to get some additional rest before that evening's proceedings, an einherjar approached him.

"The King requires your presence in the vault." he told Loki. Loki nodded silently in acknowledgement, the einherjar turning and walking back the way he had come.

**********************************

Loki entered Odin's vault, descending the stairwell into the subterranean chamber, feeling the cool air on his skin. Why would his father wish to meet with him here? Was it perhaps some sort of initiation, the beginning of his training to take the throne as king? Loki knew of every relic that the vault contained, or at least believed he knew, their origins, and their unique powers, those that had one. There were a few that were simply historic artifacts of great significance.

Odin awaited Loki at the bottom of the stairway in silence, Thor's hammer held in his hand at his side. Loki realized that the one Thor gripped as he rested on his bier was a convincing fake. 

"You wished to see me, Father?" Loki asked, reaching the bottom of the stairs and starting towards Odin.

"This belongs to you, now." Odin said, presenting Loki with the hammer, holding it out before him. Loki reached out, Odin passing the hammer to him. Loki looked down at it in his grasp. It looked and felt out of place in his hand. "Join me." Odin said, turning and walking farther into the vault, Loki following behind him.

Odin and Loki passed various relics on their stands or in their niches. Reaching nearly the center of the vault, Odin stopped, turning to Loki.

"You know what these are and with what powers they are imbued. You also know the danger of many of them which is why I have brought them here. It is Asgard's and my...and soon your own sacred duty and imperative to protect the nine realms and the greater universe as well from the devastation that could be wrought if they were to fall into the wrong hands." Odin finished, falling into silence for a moment, appearing as if he was reconsidering what he was about to say before going ahead. "Look around you. Quiet your mind and listen. Is there one that calls to you?" Odin asked. Loki wasn't quite sure what Odin meant but did as his father instructed. Loki looked around the vault. Nothing particularly caught his attention or 'called' to him as his father had put it. Loki stepped forward,

Loki slowly made his way through the vault, stopping and pausing before various relics but nothing struck him as out of the ordinary, though he could sense the energy in the air around each one. Loki continued on. He felt a sense of being led though he had heard no voice, no palpable energy pushing or pulling him along. Finally he approached the pedestal upon which rested what was perhaps the most powerful relic in Odin's collection. He stood before it, bathed in its blue glow. Loki felt a frosty chill in the air surrounding it. He stared down at it for a moment before looking up at Odin questioningly.

Loki knew well what it was. The Casket of Ancient Winters had once been the greatest, most powerful treasure of Jotunheim, the realm of the frost giants, creatures that had been the boogeymen of the stories Asgardians told their children. Cold, both literally and figuratively, and cruel were the Jotuns and merciless, fearless warriors...or at least they had been. Odin had defeated them on their home world around the time of Loki's birth and had taken the relic, their source of power, back to Asgard to rest safely in the vault. Their civilization had descended into ruin. Laufey, their king, now reigned over a crumbling world with little hope of ever again ascending to greatness in the realms or the universe. Why, Loki wondered, out of all the relics that rested there would he find himself drawn to that one?

"Before I pass the throne to you, before you take on the mantle of King and protector of this realm and the others that look to us to guide and safeguard them, there is something you must know." Loki wordlessly looked to his father expectantly. "Your mother and I raised you up alongside your brother from an infant. You are my son, yet you did not spring from my seed, nor from the womb of she who you know as your mother."

"What do you mean? What are you saying?" Loki's expression reflected his shock and confusion at Odin's revelation.

"Reach out and put your hands upon it." Odin directed Loki. Loki sat the hammer down at his feet and did as he was instructed, grasping both sides of the Casket. He felt as if the blood in his veins had transformed into ice. He watched in wonder and fear as his hands turned blue, the color creeping up his arms. "After the Battle of Jotunheim, after the final defeat of the frost giants and after I had taken the Casket from them, rendering them powerless to ever again threaten the peace of the realms, I entered the temple. There I found an infant, helpless and weak, small for a Jotun...Laufey's son, left to die on that icy rock. I brought him here and raised him as my own."

Loki stared at his father aghast. He could barely make his lips move to form words.

"You speak of myself?"

"I used the dark magic to transform you into Asgardian form. You are Asgardian, yet you still carry the echo of your past, your true origin. I thought someday it may be possible you would be an instrument of a permanent and lasting peace between our two realms. Perhaps you will be." Loki stood stunned. He had spent his entire life believing he was one thing only to learn that he was another. He removed his hands from the casket, realizing they still rested upon it. The blue color of his flesh faded, returning to its normal tone. "You now have a choice. You may raise the hammer, strike me down for my treachery. I am old and weak. I must rest soon, I have put it off long enough, perhaps too long..." Loki continued to study Odin, baffled. He realized then how weary his father appeared, "...or you can accept yourself for what you are and make peace with it, realize that it changes nothing as what you have learned today was equally true yesterday and the day before and the day before that, then think on it no more. The decision is yours."

Loki took hold of the handle of Mjolnir, Thor's hammer, now his own from where he had sat it at his feet, lifting it from the floor.

"Let us leave this place." said Loki.

*********************

Thor's body had been carried on its bier and placed into the boat in which it would make its final journey. All of Asgard it seemed had assembled to see their golden haired warrior prince sent off to his final rest, the crowd stretching back as far as Loki could see. He wondered to himself what the point was for some of them as they would be unable to see any of what was taking place.

Loki standing at Odin's side, his mother on the other side of his father, all dressed in the finest of their finery and Odin and Loki their helmets and armor, looked down for the last time on the serene face of his brother as the boat was launched, it floating away towards the border between Asgard and the void of space. After it had gone some distance, Odin subtly signaled to an archer who raised a flaming arrow, carefully aiming and then releasing it to shoot across the water, landing within the boat. A moment later flames erupted from within the craft.

"Farewell, my son." he heard Frigga say.

The flaming boat had almost reached the drop off into the darkness of space when Odin, holding Gungnir, his spear, passed it to Loki. Loki took hold of it and as he stared out over the water, with the knowledge of Asgardian magic his father had just that day passed onto him that he had not previously possessed, raised it and brought it down onto the ground, producing a loud, reverberating sound. Thor's body within the boat transformed into a sparkling mist of energy that rose from the boat up to disperse among the stars as the burning boat plunged downwards into space.

"Farewell, brother."


	5. Chapter 5

After the crowds had dispersed at the conclusion of the funeral, Loki had escorted his mother back to her chambers in the palace. He had practically ordered her to change and take to her bed immediately upon their arrival. Loki had thought more than once on the mournful journey home that he would be forced to carry her there. The shock of the unexpected and tragic loss of her son had drained her both mentally and physically. Though she was younger than Odin and not yet of the age to be considered elderly, she appeared weak and frail as if she had aged five centuries in just the single day since Thor had breathed his last. Loki sat at her bedside as she lay on her side, her hand in his, Loki listening as she reminisced.

"I'd always known I could lose him or your father or yourself. I prepared myself for such an event each time all of you were called upon to face our enemies. If that were his fate I could have borne it far easier. For him to be taken by such a cowardly act..." Frigga said.

"It may not have taken place on the field of battle but it was a noble death nonetheless." Loki told Frigga, attempting to assure and comfort her.

"He is in a better place, free from pain and sorrow. I'm comforted knowing he is at peace, but I can't but mourn for the life that was stolen from him, all that could have been…a wife...children…" Loki could clearly see that his mother was exhausted. He himself was on the verge of nodding off as they conversed. He raised Frigga's hand to his lips, afterwards holding it between both of his own.

"I swear to you, I will find who did this." he told her. Frigga examined Loki's face.

"You now carry an additional burden. Your father has told me that he has revealed to you the truth of your origin. You should have been told long before this day. We didn't want you to feel different. We should have known it would be unavoidable. It changes nothing. From the moment your father placed you in my arms, you have been as much my son as your brother."

"You have never given me cause to doubt. Sleep now." Loki said as he released her hand and rose to his feet. Frigga's eyes closed. He looked upon her for a moment before exiting the room.

Where was his father? Loki knew Odin had formal expressions of condolence to accept after the funeral but surely those had been completed by now. He couldn't imagine when he was king not remaining by the side of whomever he had favored highly enough to make his queen during such a time, to leave her to mourn alone even with all the burdens of kingship.

As he questioned his father's absence, another's absence came to mind as he traversed the corridors towards his own chambers. He had not seen nor heard from Verda the whole of the day. He had not noticed her in the crowd of mourners at the funeral, though it would have been easy to overlook her among so many. Although she had remained with him the evening before as he had finally allowed himself to express his grief, perhaps she had ultimately decided after his crude analogy to distance herself, his display of emotion only momentarily arousing her sympathy. But was that not what he had wanted? Though as he had admitted to her, he wasn't at all sure what he wanted anymore. It wasn't so much her he wished to be rid of as the complications due to her identity but the two were inextricably linked. He could not accept nor reject one without doing the same with the other.

She had rarely seen him at his worst, his darkest, the side of him that could be so callous and cold, hard and harsh. In truth, Loki was a man of deep feelings, vulnerable and sensitive, though only his mother had ever seemed cognizant of that fact. No one who did not feel so deeply would be capable of lashing out the way he had at his brother and others over the centuries. It was this dark aspect that he had nurtured over the years to shield him much like the solid exoskeleton of an insect protects its soft insides. He would hurt others or push them away before he was hurt by them. He would leave before he was left, betray before he was betrayed. However, Thor's death had jolted something within him.

He had not only sensed a shift in the universe but now one within himself. He was on the verge of having everything, or at least nearly everything he had desired, or had once believed he did….the throne, the power and respect that came with it, not just on Asgard but throughout the universe, he was now free of the shadow of his brother...or was he? Somehow Loki still sensed it hovering over him. Or perhaps that shadow had been replaced with the burden of living up to Thor's confidence in him as Loki had told his brother on his deathbed he would strive to do. Despite all he had previously wished for now being in his grasp, he did not find the taste so sweet as he had imagined. He felt the ponderous weight of it all. Why couldn't being a king be all flowers and parades, revels and glorious pomp and ceremonies and monuments and theater celebrating his greatness? He had paid little attention over his lifetime to the numerous and far less grand and more drudgerous responsibilities of kingship that rested heavily upon Odin's broad shoulders.

As Loki neared a T in the corridor he slowed, setting aside his thoughts as he believed he sensed a presence as the flames of the cauldrons lining and lighting his path sent flickering shadows dancing on the stone walls. He approached the intersection of the two corridors cautiously.

As he turned to the right into the corridor where his chambers were located, Sif, who had been lying in wait for him, swung the mace in her hands, its heavy, metallic round head cutting through the air...and through Loki's head, Loki's image vanishing. Sif spun on her heels without hesitating as if she had expected it and also had predicted that Loki would appear behind her, which of course he had.

"Are you mad-" Loki managed to exclaim before the mace struck him in the chest, knocking him across the corridor against the far wall. Loki recovered just as Sif came at him once again. Loki produced his daggers, taking a battle ready stance, dodging another blow from the mace. "Enough! Sif! Stop this!"

"You betrayed him! You knew you would not be the heir! You had him murdered so you could take the throne! You know where there is a portal to Midgard as you also know of those to the other realms! You brought them here! What did you offer them? Riches? Power?" Sif cried as she continued to pursue Loki down the corridor, swinging the mace, Loki skillfully dodging each potential blow from the weapon in her hands.

Her choice of weapon told Loki much. It was not one she usually wielded, though she had enough training and practice with it to be skilled. She must have believed to run Loki through with her sword too easy a death...or perhaps she believed he was unworthy to die in the same manner as Thor. She wanted to bludgeon him, to beat him to Valhalla...or Hel where she likely believed he would find himself after death, his soul wandering helpless and alone for the murder of his brother.

Loki was running out of options. He was preparing to launch one of his daggers in her direction, perhaps a wound to her arm would be enough to end her attack, though knowing Sif that was doubtful, but maybe it would give him the advantage and he could disarm her. Then another thought crossed his mind. He looked to her face, it seething with hatred, crazed with animosity. Yes, he thought, Lorelei was certainly lucky to be safely imprisoned and under perpetual guard.

Sif was preparing to strike yet another blow when Loki stopped his backwards momentum away from her. He stood before her and lowering both arms to his sides dropped his daggers, both of them clattering on the stone floor, before dropping to his knees bowing his head. Sif looked down upon him in confusion.

"I yield to you, Lady Sif...if you truly believe I have my brother's blood on my hands I ask only that it be swift. If you're wrong, it will be you that will be the murderer, who has slain an innocent man as well as the only surviving heir and son of your king."

Sif stared down at him in shock and uncertainty. She began to lower the mace when she heard a female voice unfamiliar to her call out from behind Loki from farther down the corridor.

"Get away from him!"

Sif was unexpectedly and violently thrown backwards by an invisible force, landing hard on the stone floor on her back, the mace knocked out of her hand and landing a few feet away from her. Loki quickly turned his head to see Verda. She rushed to Loki as he retrieved his daggers and raised himself off his knees to stand. Sif, farther down the corridor recovered and slowly rose to her feet.

"Are you alright?" Verda asked worriedly.

"That wasn't necessary. I had the situation under control." Loki told her in a somewhat hostile tone.

"That's not what it looked like from where I was standing! You call that under control?! She was about to bash your head in!"

"Who is this?" Sif asked, approaching the two, confounded.

"A friend." Loki answered Sif, turning his back to her and taking Verda by the shoulders, moving her in front of him. "Go to my chambers. Wait for me there." he told her quietly.

"But what if-"

"Go." Loki said. Verda looked past Loki to Sif with animosity.

"If you harm him, I will kill you." Verda warned her.

"Good luck with that." Sif retorted.

"Be silent! Go! Now!" Loki commanded Verda. She glanced once more at Sif before turning and making her way back down the corridor. Loki had turned back to face Sif when around the same corner Loki had rounded just as Sif attacked shortly before, Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun appeared. All three looked to the mace lying nearby and then to Loki and Sif questioningly and with apprehension.

"Is everything alright?" Fandral asked.

"Yes, we're fine...we were just conversing. I believe we've come to an understanding." Loki said, looking into Sif's eyes. She remained standing silent staring back into his.

"I'm glad to hear it. Something's happened. I don't know what it is. Odin's summoned all of us to the throne room." Fandral said to Loki and Sif.

Loki broke his shared gaze with Sif to look over to Fandral, Sif doing the same. For Odin to summon them together to meet with him at this late hour did not bode well.

Loki walked past Sif and recovered the mace and approached her once again, holding it out to her. After she had taken it from him, Loki turned to join Fandral and the others, Sif following.

*********************

"Lorelei…." the coppery haired woman heard her name within her cell as she lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, a collar attached to her neck. Lorelei sat up looking about her cell, the lights having been turned down for the night. Since she was of those few sentenced to spend the remainder of their natural life entombed in the dungeon, she had been allowed a few comforts. There was a desk and chair and writing utensils as well as a supply of paper along with another small table and a cushioned armchair. Books sat atop the smaller table, delivered to her from a list of approved reading material from which she made her selections. She had never been much into reading but there was little else to do to occupy her time over the last six centuries. She had even written a few novels of her own, though she was sure they would never see the light of day.

She was allowed an hour of exercise each day, transported shackled under heavy guard to a high walled courtyard where, supervised with what seemed an entire regiment of einherjar, she could move about and enjoy the fresh air and sunlight, though the shackles were not removed until she returned to her cell once again. It was an empty, bleak existence, more than enough to drive one mad, though many had already believed she was, there was no other explanation for the crimes of which she was guilty. Often, quite often actually, she wished that Odin had instead handed down to her the ultimate punishment. She questioned why he did not. If anyone was worthy of the axe, it was her.

Lorelei spied her, standing off in a corner between two of the three force fields that kept Lorelei contained. It was one of the few areas in the cell where it was more difficult to see from outside. Lorelei knew she wasn't actually physically present, her form merely a mental projection.

"Verda…" Lorelei said as she sat up. "I thought you had forgotten me. I haven't seen you in months...or has it been years? I find it difficult to keep track locked away like an animal in this place."

"I've been busy. I've been appointed a chambermaid in the palace." Verda said enthusiastically, smiling.

"So that was your grand plan, to clean toilets?" Lorelei responded.

"I'm doing far better than you wasting away in your cell. I had a minor setback but that doesn't matter now. Everything is working out as I envisioned. Unlike you I did not need to employ magic to make up for a lack of other skills." Verda said sarcastically. "I had nothing to lose in the attempt. If I were to fail it would all just happen all over again. I would have ended up no worse off. If my life before taught me anything, it was that one must seize opportunity with both hands...and create it."

"I see you've acquired new skills." Lorelei observed. Verda's few visits to her in the past had been in person, standing outside her cell, conversing for the few minutes they were allowed to do so through the force field. 

"He taught me...Loki, though I've taught myself much as well. He says I'm his star pupil...though I believe I'm his only pupil...but no matter. He has said I have a natural talent." Verda explained proudly. 

"You have certainly come a long way. I remember watching you pine over him from afar, too fearful to even say hello. It was pathetic, pitiful."

"I have now done far more than say hello." Verda said, smiling slyly.

"Is that how you repay him for his tutelage or have you actually managed to win him?" Lorelei asked, astonished.

"It took much time…he wavers in his affections. He fears what others may believe. You never did make life easy for me. But now that fate has willed that he is to be king he will have no reason to concern himself with what anyone thinks."

"You truly believe he will take you as his queen? If I were you I would fear the fall from the height of such lofty aspirations."

"You're one to talk. In your quest to conquer Asgard and the realms you have fallen as far as anyone possibly could." Verda made a show of looking around the cell, "I may clean toilets but at least I'm not forced to live in one. I knew as most others did that Odin would likely choose Thor to succeed him. I never cared about being queen. It was him I wanted, I cared not for grand titles."

"So you say...until you realize one is within reach." Lorelei responded.

"Believe what you wish, but it's true. I may have loved him from afar, but I still loved him...and I loved him for who he was, not what he was. I may be the only one that ever has. You know that if I do become queen. I have no intention of convincing him to free you. You will die here."

"That will happen far sooner if you succeed. I'm sickened by the thought of it. He would do better to take a bilge snipe as his queen."

"Ahhh….sisterly love. I've so missed this. Actually no, I haven't. Goodnight, sister. May your dreams be as unpleasant as yourself." Verda said, her image fading out leaving Lorelei alone once more in her darkened cell.

*********************

Loki, the Warriors Three and Sif entered the throne room, making the long trek towards the throne, Odin seated upon it. He stood as they approached, stepping down from the throne and moving towards them. Loki could sense from his father's walk and demeanor that he was anxious and agitated on top of his sorrow. He looked even wearier than he had earlier that day in the vault.

"I wish to speak to my son alone. I will rejoin you shortly." Odin said, moving off to his left towards a doorway that led into his study. Loki looked at the others assembled, as baffled as they were as to the reason they had been called before their king and his father before following Odin.

Entering his study, Odin strode to the middle of the room before he turned. Loki came to a stop a few feet from him.

"I have received word from Jotunheim...Laufey is dead." Odin said grimly.

"How?" Loki asked, aghast. Jotuns, like Asgardians, had very long life spans. Laufey was not as aged as Odin. He should have had many more centuries ahead of him.

"He was murdered...in much the same way as your brother...it is morning on Jotunheim. He was just rising. They took him unaware, not expecting an attack in his own bedchamber. Only one servant was present to witness it. The assailants all escaped by unknown means." Odin informed Loki, pausing before he continued. Loki looked at Odin astonished. Not that he cared what befell Laufey, or any frost giant for that matter. He'd be perfectly satisfied if they all were no more. He cared even less now, knowing that it was Laufey, his own biological father, that had abandoned him to die as an infant, yet he knew the implications of the event and especially due to the manner in which it had taken place. "I must ask you...was this in any way your doing?" Odin asked.

"No...of course not. I was with you and mother, my presence was likely witnessed by nearly everyone on Asgard." Loki said, glad that this time he had witnesses. The last thing he needed on top of Sif believing he had killed his brother was his father thinking that he had assassinated the King of Jotunheim. 

"You did not have another act in your stead?" Odin asked.

"No. I swear on the soul of my brother in Valhalla...I was in no way involved." Loki said, sounding almost desperate. It was imperative that his father believe him, especially this time when he actually spoke truth and was not simply attempting to avoid punishment for a prank gone wrong or some other infraction as he had as a child and even from time to time now as a young man. Odin put his hand out, resting it on Loki's shoulder.

"There is no need to invoke your brother's soul. I have spoken to Heimdall. He agrees that the murder of Laufey was most likely committed, or at least orchestrated by those responsible for your brother's death. Whatever their motive may be it is unlikely to be something in which we should hope they triumph. Heimdall also believes that you are the one most likely to succeed in uncovering the truth. As much as I dislike the idea of placing my only surviving son and heir in danger, I agree. After I have spoken to the others, you must return to your chambers and rest. Tomorrow you prepare to go to Midgard and find this Coulson and learn from him what you can."

"I swore to mother I would find who is responsible for my brother's death. I make the same vow to you."


	6. Chapter 6

After being apprised of the situation on Jotunheim, Sif, Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg appeared apprehensive and uneasy upon hearing that Loki, unaccompanied, would travel to Midgard to attempt to locate the mysterious Phil Coulson. Their anxiety was not due to a belief that he was ill suited to the task. Midgard was known to be a chaotic, violent realm and considered underdeveloped and backwards throughout the universe. It was a disunified planet in all aspects, various governments and groups constantly at odds with each other. Midgardians often behaved in an ignoble manner and in general were obsessively self interested. Murders and assaults were commonplace along with a host of other crimes. Though killing or severely injuring an Asgardian would be extremely difficult for a mortal to achieve, it wasn't completely outside the realm of possibility. 

After leaving Odin's presence, Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral had taken their leave of Loki to retire for the night. It had, of course, been a long day for everyone. Exhaustion overtook Loki once more, adrenaline having momentarily lifted it due to Sif's attack followed by the summons to Odin's presence and the astonishing news of Laufey's demise. Loki had trailed behind the others as they made their way down the corridor, Sif ahead of him. Though he believed that he had planted at least enough of a seed of doubt within her that he would likely not have to worry about another assault, he wasn't taking any chances.

Once they were alone, the Warriors Three having rounded the corner, Sif came to a halt, turning to Loki, putting Loki on his guard, though he did his best not to make it obvious. He relaxed somewhat as she bowed her head, looking towards the stone floor, her countenance exuding shame.

"Thank you….for your discretion. I should be in the dungeons." Sif told him after a moment of silence, as if she had been in a battle with her ego to be able to speak the words. "I was mistaken. If Laufey fell in the same manner as Thor..."

Loki in that moment was glad that he had chosen to keep his newfound knowledge a secret for the time being. He had yet to decide if he would disclose his origin to anyone. It seemed to him that it would be wiser for many reasons not to do so. Here seemed to be a sign from the universe that course was the correct one. If Sif knew, and with the coincidence of him having found out the truth mere hours before Laufey's murder, it would not have assuaged her suspicion of him but would most likely have bolstered it.

"My brother would not have been pleased for you to be locked away."

"Neither would he have been pleased with my actions." Sif responded.

"We don't know what is to come. Asgard needs you and all its warriors to be ready for whatever that may be. I know how high in esteem you held my brother. When I find who is responsible they will be for the axe. If it's your wish, as king I will be pleased to bestow on you the honor of swinging it. Goodnight, Lady Sif."

"Goodnight." Sif replied, turning and disappearing down the corridor.

Loki entered his chambers, dark but for the large fire in the cauldron in the center of the room. On the chaise sat Verda, what appeared to be a small leather bag lying on the cushion beside her. In her palm she held an assortment of stones like quartz crystals of various shapes and sizes, clear but for a rainbow effect in their center.

"What are you doing with those?" Loki asked, sounding perturbed as he briskly strode over to her and snatched them from her hand along with the bag, placing the stones back into it. "I'll thank you to stay out of my things." Loki was well aware that Verda had to have employed a spell to sense the presence of and to reveal magically hidden objects in order to have found them. He didn't recall teaching her that particular trick. But then, he had never taught her how to do what she had done in the corridor either. He wondered what else she was now capable of.

"You told me to come here. I grew restless awaiting your return. What are they?" Verda asked.

"I came by them fairly recently. I haven't had the opportunity to fully explore their capabilities." Loki replied brusquely, the bag of stones disappearing from his hand as he magically stowed them away. "What were you thinking?" Loki asked with displeasure. "I thought we had an understanding."

"What was I supposed to do? Sing a song? She was going to kill you! If I'm not allowed to save someone's life….and not just anyone's...the only one for which I'd gladly sacrifice my own, what's the point?" Verda said heatedly as she rose from the chaise. The expression of animosity Loki displayed began to fade as he processed her words.

"You would give your life…." Loki said in disbelief. The einherjar were sworn to protect those closest to the throne with their lives of course. Thor likely would have done so, and his mother, and probably even his father simply because it would be what others would expect of a father, his 'duty,' but it was not a position he believed anyone else held or would ever hold regarding himself.

"I know you don't care for the sentiment, but regardless of what it is I am to you, if I'm anything at all, a horse in a field or whatever, I love you. I'd do anything for you! Of course I'd give my life for you or if I couldn't save you I'd die with you! I would have if I'd known! I didn't want to go! They lied to me! They told me you were-" Verda said, tears beginning to course down her cheeks, before abruptly going silent. Loki now looked at her in confusion. Verda appeared fearful for a moment before turning from him. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. You're right, this must end. I should go. I don't wish to cause you any more grief." She turned towards the door, making her way to it. She was halfway there when a wall of flame sprung up across her path bringing her to a halt.

"A horse would shy away from flames. You're not a horse." said Loki.

"Thanks for noticing." Verda replied.

"I should be publicly flogged for a lout."

"Knowing you, you might enjoy that." Verda responded, unable to hold back a grin from the corners of her mouth, a smile crossing Loki's face as well. The wall of flames before her vanished.

"You may be right." Loki said, approaching Verda, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I've just met with my father. That was the cause of my delay. Tomorrow I go to Midgard." Verda turned to face Loki, appearing shocked and anxious.

"Midgard? Why?"

"There's someone I must find there. He may be the one responsible for Thor's murder...and that of Laufey, the King of the Jotunheim who has fallen this night in a similar manner to my brother. If he's not responsible, surely he knows who is."

"But if he is responsible...you can't go! Why would your father send you? You're his only son now, his heir. This man could kill you too! He must send someone else!"

"If they'd wanted my death, they had every opportunity to slay me along with Thor."

"Yes, but if you pursue this man, they may change their mind. Besides, Midgard is an awful place, it's not like Asgard at all...I couldn't stan-" Verda said, again breaking off before continuing, "I couldn't stand the thought of you there."

"I've been there before, though it's been quite awhile since my last visit."

"How long will you be gone?" Verda asked.

"As long as it takes to find the man I seek. I'm hoping not long."

"Do you know exactly where he is? To find one man among all those on Midgard, it would be like finding one particular grain of sand on the beach." said Verda.

"No, but I may be able to convince him to come to me."

"How?" Verda asked.

"It doesn't matter. There's no need to worry over me. I'll be fine. When I take the oath and the throne, I want to do so knowing that my brother's murderers rest in the dungeon to await their fate. My first act as king will be to sentence them to the axe."

"You would have them executed? Odin hasn't sentenced anyone to the axe since before either of us were born. He even refused to execute my sister, though it would not have troubled me in the least if he had."

"I'm loath to begin my reign with bloodshed, but I can think of no punishment more fitting for the murderers of the heir to the throne of Asgard. My father had not yet made the formal announcement but everyone knows Thor was my father's choice to succeed him. It's likely why he was killed." Loki told Verda.

"That's why Sif…she believes that you-"

"She did, but no longer, not after learning of Laufey's death as well. She was in love with my brother. She had been since we were children. She also lost someone else she loved long ago...the only man to equal my brother in her affections. His name was Haldor. He was one of Lorelei's victims."

"To lose one would be enough, but two...no wonder she lost her mind."

"In the state she was in at the time, you're lucky she didn't know who you are."

"I wish I could speak with her. I want her to know I'm not my sister, that I despise Lorelei as much as she does."

"Perhaps in the future once the dust from all of this has settled, I'll arrange it. I don't believe now would be the best time."

"I thought you didn't want anyone to know...that's why you wished to be rid of me…" Verda said.

"I've given the matter more thought. I asked my mother to find a position for you because I believed it unfair how you were treated by others but then I behaved no better. You're right. What should I care what others think? You've committed no crime...actually, you have...you've stolen something from me…" Loki said. Verda looked at him questioningly.

"I've taken nothing from you. What do you-" Loki reached over and took hold of Verda's hand, raising it to his chest and placing it over his heart, looking into her eyes as understanding came over her before kissing her.

"Neither of us are horses...though I suppose we could pretend." Loki said suggestively into Verda's ear.

"Should you not rest before your journey?" Verda asked.

"There are still many hours until morning. I'll sleep far better..."

*********************

Loki awakened at dawn and carefully removed his arms from around Verda, slipping out of hers as she dozed. He had been correct, he had slept very well, once the both of them had gotten around to it. Upon taking Verda to his bed, he had experienced a second wind, or more accurately a third. Afterwards, however, both had rapidly given in to exhaustion. Though he had gotten fewer hours of rest than was customary, which had been the case the previous night as well, the deep nature of the sleep he had fallen into had made up for the quantity.

He couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty. His brother had been murdered and right in front of him. How could he have even considered engaging in what he had with Verda the last two nights? But then, perhaps it was what had kept him sane over the last two days. The blessing for the dead did say not to mourn but to rejoice.

Loki had prepared for the day and dressed, finishing just as Verda rose and dressed, preparing to return to her own chambers as she had duties to attend to.

"Promise me you'll be careful." Verda said as she embraced him in the great room of his chambers, almost on the verge of tears.

"I promise you." he assured her.

"I'd feel better if someone were going with you."

"It's better that I go alone. I'll send word upon my return. I must be on my way soon." he said, kissing her before she made her way to the door, turning to look at him once more before exiting his chambers.

Loki began to walk over to the hammer that had once belonged to Thor that he had sat next to the chaise. He stopped, staring at it for a moment, then as he had seen Thor do countless times, reached out his hand towards it. Just as it had for Thor, it rose from where he had placed it and came rocketing towards him, Loki closing his hand around its handle. Tossing it away from him, though not hard enough to go all that far, he caught it once again as it returned to him.

He considered whether he should bring it with him to Midgard. It still did not feel 'right' in his grip. It still did not feel as if it belonged to him. However it was a useful weapon and he could easily disguise it as something mundane that would not attract attention. Gripping it, he made his way to the door of his chambers.

*********************

"Uh….Jane? Would you call this weird because you said to let you know if there was anything weird." Darcy, Jane Foster's intern, said as she approached Jane holding a device that was somewhat larger and bulkier than a cell phone. Jane sat at a desk in front of a computer inside the abandoned service station that now served as her and Erik Selvig's base of operations. Jane took the device from Darcy, examining it and quickly rising to her feet.

"What the hell?!" Jane exclaimed, befuddled.

"So I guess it's weird, then."

"I'm not sure what it is...yes, it's weird...it's more than weird...where's Erik?"

"Right here...what's going on?" Selvig said, a paper bag of sandwiches held in one hand.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this. It's not like before…" Jane said, handing the device to Selvig, Darcy taking the bag from him and opening it, looking down into it.

"You told them to hold the mayo on mine right? I hate mayo..cream of egg...blecch…"

"Yeah…I had them put your name on it." Erik answered Darcy as he looked at the device Jane had put into his hand. "This can't be right. Are you sure it's not picking up some kind of interference?" Erik asked, looking bewildered.

"Yes, I'm sure. We have to go...now!" Jane exclaimed, rushing towards an older beige colored military style all terrain vehicle.

"What's the big deal? Can't we eat first? I'm starving!" Darcy whined.

"You can eat on the way!" Jane said as Erik and Darcy followed her.

"On the way to where? You know I hate eating in the car."

*********************

As the dazzling light of the Bifrost lifted, Loki found himself standing in the middle of the circular pattern it left behind, burned into the surface, as he surveyed the landscape. He appeared to be in a desert. It wasn't what he'd expected. Heimdall had told him that the experts on Midgard in Odin's service were sure that the origin of the card found on one of Thor's assailants was from North America, specifically a land called the United States. There were a few out of the way places where he could be safely deposited in that land without drawing attention but no one was sure exactly which would be closest to this Phil Coulson's location so one was as good as another. It was more important for him to procure one of the Midgardian's communication devices so that he could ascertain the man's exact location and possibly coax him into coming to him instead.

The air was stiflingly hot. Loki appeared to be dressed in a black button down shirt and trousers, a pack on his back. Attached to it was an umbrella, though Loki looking at the dry, dusty ground was reconsidering the wisdom of the illusion he'd chosen to disguise the hammer. He would think of something else as it looked as if he would have plenty of time to do so as he searched for the nearest city or town or any sign of civilization...though he used that term loosely when it came to Midgard.

Rethinking the color of his clothing as he began walking under the blazing sun, the shirt transformed from black to white, the trousers to a khaki color. He was not a fan of those particular shades but he would be far more comfortable. Trekking across the barren landscape he finally came upon the first sign of mortals' presence in the area, a two lane road. Entering the roadway, Loki looked to his left and right. In the distance to his left he saw what appeared to be a large sign. Turning in that direction, he made his way down the center of the right lane towards it.


	7. Chapter 7

"We have to be getting close. We should be seeing something by now…" Jane said as she raced the vehicle down the road. Selvig in the passenger seat continued to examine the device in his hand.

"Whatever it was, I think we missed it." Erik informed her.

"Damn it!" Jane swore in aggravation and disappointment.

"Hey...innocent ears! That's twice today you've sworn. I'm your intern. You're supposed to be setting a good example." Darcy said, speaking with her mouth half full as she'd just taken a bite of her sandwich.

"You're old enough to drink. I think you can handle it. I just can't believe we haven't seen anything...with those readings…."

"It may not have lasted long….seconds, a few milliseconds even. With this sort of thing it's often a matter of being in the right place at the right time. All the gadgets in the world can't replace good old fashioned luck." Erik informed her.

"Maybe I need to find a research partner that's Irish instead of Scandanavian. You know, luck of the Irish, four leaf clovers, the Blarney Stone..." Jane quipped looking over at Erik with a teasing smile. 

"Kissing the Blarney Stone is for eloquence, not luck." Selvig responded.

"Jane!" Darcy cried out from her seat in the back as she stared wide eyed and pointed towards the windshield.

Startled, Jane turned her eyes back to the road, her brain registering, to her horror, a dark haired figure in the distance, a pack on his back who was just turning to face the oncoming vehicle. She realized she was driving even faster than usual, and she was known to have a lead foot. Selvig looked up from the device in his hand at Darcy's warning, spying him at the same moment as Jane, his eyes now wide with fright.

Jane slammed on the brakes, the vehicle's tires squealing against the pavement in protest of the sudden command to cease spinning. As if in defiance of that command, the vehicle continued to slide forward. Jane felt a sickening sensation in her midsection, as if she were about to vomit, sure that though the vehicle was slowing quite rapidly there was no way it could stop in time. Not wishing to witness the demise of the man in the road, though she knew there was no way to avoid the fact that she would hear and feel the vehicle striking him, she squeezed her eyes tightly closed.

The vehicle came to a sudden, jarring stop, the immediate nature of its forward momentum ceasing sending all three occupants lurching forward in their seats, the contents of Darcy's sandwich spilling into her lap and the back end of the vehicle rising a foot off the ground for a moment before gravity pulled it down onto the pavement once again.

Jane slowly opened her eyes to see what the other two of the vehicle's occupants already were viewing with amazement. The man stood at the front end of the vehicle looking back at them, seemingly unscathed, both arms out and his hands against it as if he himself had brought it to a halt, though Jane was sure it was just an illusion of timing. Her mind addled, she must have simply overestimated how long it would take to come to a stop. The occupants of the vehicle and Loki continued to stare at each other for a few more moments.

"Talk about luck…" Jane said under her breath. Selvig popped open the passenger side door and exited the vehicle.

Jane exited next, Darcy following, the sandwich contents in her lap falling onto the pavement. She discarded the bread onto them as well.

"This is why I hate eating in the car!" 

Selvig stepped forward even with the front end of the vehicle as Loki removed his hands from it. Selvig's face expressed his astonishment as he noticed slight indentations in the metal where Loki's hands had rested. By this time Jane had moved up to stand at the other side of the vehicle's front end, across from Selvig, Loki between them. Darcy had joined Selvig, looking around him at Loki cautiously, noticing the indentations as well.

"Holy shit!" Darcy exclaimed.

"What the hell are you doing? You damn near got yourself killed! This is a road, not a hiking trail!" Selvig scolded. 

"So it is. My apologies." Loki responded.

"Are you alright?" Jane asked, she also noticing the two dents on the front of the vehicle. She looked to Loki's hands. They appeared uninjured and unbroken, no sign of any swelling, bruising or blood.

"Yes, I'm unharmed."

"So what are you doing? Car trouble?" Selvig asked. "We can call someone for you."

"No...I have no means of transport." Loki said then noticed the strange look Selvig was giving him. "I've lost it."

"How do you lose a vehicle?" asked Selvig. Loki's mind that had momentarily been rattled by the swift approach of the vehicle began to recover, his thinking quickening once again.

"It was taken from me along with my communication device and currency." Loki answered. Selvig continued to regard him strangely.

"You're saying it was stolen...you were carjacked...communication device? You mean your phone? They took your car, your phone and your money?"

"Yes." Loki responded. Jane looked at Loki sympathetically. She walked past him to Selvig and spoke to him quietly, her back to Loki.

"Obviously he's not from here. He's clearly in some kind of shock. He probably had no idea what he was doing."

"You're likely right." Selvig said to Jane before looking to Loki once again. "We'll give you a lift into town and you can file a police report."

"Is there a place there I can obtain more currency and a….phone?" Loki said, recalling the term Selvig had used.

"Yes. We'll show you. Get in." Selvig said.

"My side. This way." Jane said, walking past Loki once again back towards the driver's side door, Loki following. Selvig and Darcy made their way back to the passenger side doors. Once inside, everyone seated, Jane turned the vehicle around in the road, heading back towards town. Darcy looked over to Loki.

"Seatbelt. Trust me, with Jane driving…." Darcy told him. Loki looked confused then noticed the strap across Darcy's shoulder and traced it to where it connected then looked to his left, pulling the one on his side across himself and latching it.

"I'm Jane Foster. This is Erik Selvig…..Darcy." Jane said Darcy's name as if an afterthought.

"Hello." Darcy said, "You owe me a sandwich by the way."

"I'll get you another." Selvig said.

"Selvig? You're a warrior?" Loki asked, sounding somewhat surprised to hear the name and familiar with the meaning of the last syllable in the ancient language of Asgard and the lands of Midgard that once looked to Asgard and Odin for protection.

"Hardly. I'm a scientist. Selvig is my family name. I'm Scandanavian."

"I noticed a slight distinction in your speech from the fairer members of your party." Loki paused for a moment. "Þakka þér fyrir góðvild þína. (Thank you for your kindness.)" Loki said. Selvig turned to look at Loki in surprise to hear a language, or at least a variation of it, spoken in his homeland.

"Verði þér að góðu (You're welcome)." Selvig responded.

"Skilja dömurnar þetta tungumál? (Do the ladies understand this language?)" Loki asked. Darcy was now looking from Loki to Selvig in confusion.

"Nei, við ættum að tala ensku. Við viljum ekki vera dónaleg. (No. We should speak english. We don't want to be rude.)" Selvig answered.

"Yes, of course." Loki said, reverting back to english.

"Are you also-?" Selvig began to ask. He had of course noticed that Loki did not speak with an American accent but it didn't sound in any way similar to his own.

"No. I'm...familiar with that land...though it's been quite some time…"

"Where are you from?" Selvig asked, curious. Many people in his place of birth learned english. Few people born outside of it bothered to learn to speak the language of his birthplace.

"Where do you believe I'm from?" Loki asked, dodging the question.

"I had you pegged as British."

"You would be correct." Loki answered, having planned to agree to whatever origin Selvig assigned to him.

"You haven't told us your name." said Selvig.

"Lucas." Loki said, using the alias he had devised with the help of Odin's advisors. He knew it had to be something close enough to his own name so that if he had need to develop relations with Midgardians to accomplish his mission he would grow accustomed to it and respond to it more readily.

"So what brings you to New Mexico?" Selvig inquired. The more he spoke with "Lucas" the more a sense of something being strange about him intensified. His manner of speaking was more formal than any of his British friends and acquaintances and his use of certain terms was unusual. Just as when he faced a scientific enigma, he found himself intrigued.

"My brother was recently murdered. His killers have not yet been identified. I'm here to attempt to do so."

"That's horrible! I'm so sorry." Jane said from the driver's seat. His brother murdered and then carjacked and robbed...most definitely not someone with the 'luck of the Irish' Jane thought, recalling her and Erik's conversation.

"Why do you believe they're here?" Selvig asked. Just as Selvig felt a sense of strangeness surrounding Loki, Loki was experiencing something similar. That same shift he'd sensed right before Thor was attacked and that he'd experienced a few times since came over him once again.

"Are you acquainted with a man named Coulson? Phil Coulson? Are you familiar with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division?" Loki asked.

"I don't know anyone by the name of Coulson. You're talking about S.H.I.E.L.D?" Selvig asked, the color draining from his face, his countenance one of unease. "Yes, I'm familiar...at least somewhat. I wish that I wasn't. I know a couple of others that wish the same. One of them has disappeared. No one knows where he is or if he's even still alive. He hasn't been heard from since he had dealings with them. He was a scientist, an expert in gamma radiation...the man was a genius, had seven PhDs."

"You believe him to have been slain at their hands? So they're known to be a band of murderers?" Loki asked.

"I don't know what to believe. He could still be alive and in hiding for all anyone knows. They're not 'officially' in the murder business. For having such a long name it doesn't tell you a whole lot about what it is they actually do. I know they started off as a scientific arm of the military in World War II and it seems they're still involved with science to a degree. I've known a few scientists they've attempted to recruit that turned them down. They're a government agency, they're supposed to be protecting us though no one's really sure how. You know how it goes, though...how often throughout history people ended up needing protection from those that were supposed to be the protectors. I understand you want justice for your brother, but I'd keep my distance from that bunch. Hire a private investigator and let them go poking their nose around."

"Thank you for your counsel." Loki replied, going silent. He spent the rest of the journey watching the landscape go by out of the window, Selvig glancing back at him from time to time.

Finally reaching the old service station where Jane and Selvig had set up shop, Jane parked the vehicle.

"Well, here we are." Selvig said, opening the door and exiting, the others doing the same. Loki examined his surroundings with curiosity.

"Hey, you said you were going to get me another sandwich." Darcy said to Selvig.

"Here," Selvig said, pulling out his wallet and handing a bill to Darcy, "The police station isn't far from the sandwich shop. Lucas, go with Darcy and she'll show you where it is. If you're hungry Darcy can grab something for you." Loki nodded, following Darcy who gestured for him to accompany her.

"What do you think?" Selvig asked Jane as both watched Loki and Darcy walk across the street.

"He's a little strange. More than a little. He talks like he's straight out of Shakespeare. Maybe he kissed the Blarney Stone." Jane joked, referencing their earlier conversation. "He gives me a weird vibe. Not 'bad' weird necessarily, just..I don't know how to describe it." Jane answered.

"Me too. I think there's more to his story. If his brother had dealings with S.H.I.E.L.D...if that's what got him killed, I'd like to know why. I'll take him out for a couple of drinks, loosen him up, see if he'll tell me more. I'm going to call Pym too, see what he thinks, maybe have Hank talk to him. He knows more than I do. The bank closed fifteen minutes ago. If he needs to call someone to wire him money, he won't be able to get it until tomorrow. He'll need a place to stay...weather's supposed to be nice, he can sleep on one of the lounge chairs on the roof….if you're ok with that."

"Yeah….yeah, that's fine. I'm not going to kick him out on the street, not after what he's been through." Jane replied.

"Alright then. If I can I'd like to keep him from getting in over his head. With his emotions running high as they likely are after his brother and S.H.I.E.L.D involved that'd be easy to do. If his parents are still living, and he looks young enough I'd think they probably are...it'd be hard enough to lose one son. I couldn't imagine losing two."

*********************

Sif traversed the corridor towards her chambers. She had just returned from her daily training session, her hair damp with perspiration. Before that, she had been granted an audience with Odin, requesting to be sent to Midgard. Now that her suspicions had been allayed, her feelings towards Loki had shifted to the opposite end of the spectrum. He was Thor's brother, a living link to him, and the heir to the throne. He should be protected at all costs. She still couldn't believe that Odin had sent him into the chaos of Midgard unaccompanied. In Sif's view it was akin to tossing him into a pit of vipers. She would merely trail him, only making her presence known if there was any danger to him. To her dismay but not surprise, Odin had denied her request.

Sif thought highly of Odin, and as others did, respected his wisdom. She also knew, however, that the death of Thor had greatly affected him, though he did not publicly display his grief, putting on the strong front he felt was necessary and expected of a king. He was also soon due to undergo his extended period of rest. Along with those factors was the uncertainty and unanswered questions connected to both Thor's death and that of Laufey. Any of those factors alone could potentially have a detrimental effect on his judgement and reasoning.

Sif entered her chambers, the door closing behind her. She froze as she viewed a female figure standing in the middle of the room dressed in the gown of a palace servant, a woman she recognized but whose identity was unknown to her.

"Lady Sif." Verda said.

"How did you get in here?" Sif asked, feeling violated that someone had been able to gain access to her chambers in her absence.

"I apologize for my trespass, but I need to speak with you alone."

"Who are you?" Sif asked.

"I'm Verda. I'm a chambermaid here in the palace. I'm a friend of Loki….more than a friend…."

"I suspected as much. Leave it to Loki to charm the chambermaid into granting him favors. What is it you want?" Sif asked, perturbed. She was feeling worn from her exertions and continued to be weighed down with sorrow at the loss of Thor, at the moment having little desire to converse with Loki's strumpet.

"I need your help. Loki is in danger."


	8. Chapter 8

"Did he mention anything more about his brother? Anything else?" Selvig asked Darcy after pulling her aside upon her and Loki's return as Loki sat at a small table inside Selvig and Jane's base of operations, eating the sandwich Darcy had bought for him. Selvig had noticed how Loki had examined it first as if it were foreign cuisine or, Selvig thought, with the trajectory of the man's life recently perhaps he was fearful of being poisoned. After perusing what lay between the bread and seemingly satisfied that it was edible, Loki had taken a bite and now appeared to be enjoying it.

"I did most of the talking. I know, not a surprise. I think he's more the strong, silent type. He asked where he could get money and a phone." Darcy answered. Selvig's phone rang, Loki looking over in their direction at the sound of the ringtone. Selvig took his phone from his pocket as Darcy returned to the table to join Loki and eat her replacement sandwich. Selvig noticed Loki watching him as he answered.

"Hank! Hello. Yes, I know. It's been too long. I didn't expect you to return my call so soon. I thought you'd be busy. No...no...everything's fine…" Selvig said as he glanced at Loki before exiting the building to continue the conversation.

Selvig knew that his old friend and colleague, Hank Pym, the founder and CEO of Pym Technologies, a man whose genius...and wealth...made him one of the few to rival Tony Stark in those departments, had once been a consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D, though he wasn't sure of the exact nature of the work he'd done for them. He knew only that Pym had warned him about them in the past and seemed to hold quite a grudge. As succinctly as he could, he explained the situation and told him of the mysterious 'Lucas'.

"You told him the same thing I'd tell him." Pym told Selvig. Pym stood in his office as he spoke to Selvig on his phone, looking out of the window. "Go back for a second...you said he stopped a two ton vehicle...?"

"I didn't mean he actually stopped it. Just fluke timing."

"You're sure about that? You said there were dents." Pym asked.

"There's no way a man-" Selvig began before Pym interrupted him.

"You've heard of Steve Rogers?"

"Of course I've heard of Steve Rogers. You're not saying…"

"I'm not saying anything except to watch yourself. The whole thing could be a ruse. He may very well be an agent himself...one of their experiments. People have been trying for years to replicate the process they used on Rogers. Like I always say, if it was done once, it can be done again."

"You think he may be a plant, spying for them? We're studying atmospheric anomalies, nothing S.H.I.E.L.D. should be interested in."

"There's not a whole lot S.H.I.E.L.D isn't interested in." Pym replied. "They could very well be the cause of them. Some new weapons technology. If that's the case…."

"They wouldn't want a couple scientists poking around." Selvig finished. "Now that I think about it...the whole reason we were out there...we picked up some strange readings, an energy signature...never seen anything like it, not outside the theoretical. Whatever caused it was over and done before we made it there. I haven't had a chance to really dig into the data yet."

"It may have been a set up to get you out there in order to meet up with him. Whatever data you have make sure you have it backed up, and then back up the back ups off site. If they come after it, it'll be like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, they'll take everything. You'll be lucky if they leave you any toilet paper to wipe your ass." Pym warned.

"I'm planning on taking him out for a drink later...hoping to get him to open up, give me more information." Selvig informed Pym.

"If you find out anything more, let me know. If it turns out he's on the level, I'll talk to him. I want you to check in with me, let me know what's going on. We still don't know what happened to Banner. I don't want to see you end up as the next hide and seek champion."

"I know...I mentioned him when I was trying to discourage him...not by name but it wouldn't be hard to figure out who I was referring to...maybe I shouldn't have. I'll give you a call in the morning." Selvig said, sounding uneasy.

"You do that. Give my number to Jane as well. Don't get yourself too twisted up in knots. He may well be who he says he is. There's some good people in S.H.I.E.L.D., people like I was with good intentions, that believe they're serving their country, keeping people safe, all that, but I've suspected for quite awhile that they've been compromised. Just keep your eyes open."

"Alright. I will."

"Take care of yourself, Erik."

"You too. Thanks."

Selvig ended the call, placing his phone back into his pocket as Jane exited the building and approached him.

"Was that Hank Pym?" Jane asked.

"Yeah...let's take a walk." Selvig said, walking away from the building, Jane following with a curious expression, noticing how troubled Selvig appeared to be. She'd known Selvig her entire life, he having been a colleague of her father, and rarely saw him appear as anxious as he now seemed.

Selvig related his conversation with Pym to Jane who grew increasingly discomforted by what she was hearing, her unease now matching Selvig's own. They had not traversed far from their base, Jane glancing back at it.

"He thinks he could be some kind of super soldier?" Jane asked.

"You saw what he did. I thought the same as you did, a fluke of timing and physics, I could show you the formula to explain how it's possible...of course I'd have to estimate a couple of the variables...but now I'm not so sure. He's obviously educated...S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't recruit high school dropouts."

"Lots of people are educated...we're educated. Wouldn't S.H.I.E.L.D. want an American?" Jane asked.

"They'd take whoever fit their criteria. America didn't care what nationality the people were that worked on the atomic bomb and recruited Nazis to work on the space program."

"Are you still going to take him out for a drink later? Maybe I should go with you."

"No...he may be more willing to open up to another guy, just the two of us. I'll be fine." Selvig looked at Jane and her petite frame. "If he wanted to do me any harm, there's not much you could do to stop him, even if he hasn't been juiced up with some kind of super soldier serum." Selvig now looked over to see Loki exit the old service station and scan his surroundings, his eyes falling on them. "We should get back."

*********************

Loki walked the streets of the town of Puente Antiguo. He had informed Selvig and Jane as they returned that he was going on an "excursion." Selvig had jokingly directed him to stick to the sidewalk before inviting Loki to join him at the local tavern upon his return, telling him that after what Loki had experienced recently, he deserved a drink. Though the carjacking and robbery story was a fiction, Loki had to agree with that assessment.

Almost everything was unfamiliar to him as the last time he had visited had been before electricity or gas powered vehicles. He reflected on all that had brought him there, to a small, nondescript, dusty town surrounded by desert on Midgard. It was certainly not a situation he would have predicted only a few days previously, he thought to himself. As he came upon a clothing store, a mannequin in the window caught his attention, the human representation's fair skin tone and the copper colored wig atop its head recalling Verda to his mind. He wished nothing more at the moment than to be back in his own bed, her arms wrapped around him, his about her, the feeling of her soft, warm skin against his own, the smell of her perfume, the scent of her hair. Though he'd had other lovers over the course of his life, unlike Verda, none of them had ever made such an impression or truly held a place in his heart, both parties having merely fulfilled the physical needs of the other.

Loki found himself questioning what it was about her that set her apart. She wasn't the most beautiful woman he had ever known...or taken to his bed. Was it merely the kinship he had initially felt due to their struggles related to their sibling? Was it her obviously innate talent in magic...though generally something of that sort would instead arouse a sense of rivalry within Loki. Was it that, unlike others, she had never asked him for any 'special favors' that his status could grant to her? She had not asked to be given a position in the palace, it had been his idea. She had not asked him to take on the mantle of a teacher, he had taken it upon himself to do so. If she had asked, he likely would have said no to both requests. Loki had a natural abhorrence to doing what others asked of or demanded of him which had been a major contributor to the friction between himself and his father. It had to be his idea (or at least he had to believe it had been.) More than any of those things, however, was what she had said to him with such sincerity and conviction…that she would gladly give her life for his own. Not that he would ever ask such a thing of her or allow her to ever do so.

Realization struck him as he recalled Verda sitting on the chaise, the clear crystal stones held in the palm of her hand. They had completely slipped his mind due to his exhaustion at the time, both mental and physical, and what had taken place after. He held out his hand as he stood in front of the shop window, summoning the stones to appear within it once again. He had not been dishonest with Verda. He had come by them recently, not by the most honest of means, though he was quite sure that he who had possessed them before himself had also procured them in an equally dishonest manner and hadn't a clue what they were. Loki had also been honest with Verda when he told her that he was not fully aware of the extent of their capabilities. In order to explore one of those capabilities that he did have knowledge of, however, he would have need of something he was unlikely to find in the middle of a desert. Stowing them away again, he glanced once more at the mannequin before continuing on his way.

*********************

Selvig entered the tavern, Loki trailing behind. Evening having fallen and with it the temperature, at least enough to be more comfortable, and Loki had 'changed' into his original black ensemble, Selvig assuming he had kept extra clothing in the pack he had been wearing on his back. Music blared as people laughed and conversed loudly in order to be heard over it along with the sound of billiard balls making their distinctive clicking sound as they collided. The song currently playing, an upbeat 70s era rock and roll tune, ended and was followed by another.

"Rita must be tending the bar tonight." Selvig said. In the time Selvig had been there, he had visited the local tavern enough times to know the blond female bartender, younger than himself but approaching middle age, though she was doing her best not to appear as if she was, to be an avid fan of the music of that particular era. As Selvig took a seat at the bar, Loki sat beside him taking in his surroundings, appearing to Selvig as if he had just been deposited on an alien planet, Selvig unaware of course that was actually the case.

Rita, the bartender, her hair done in a style that was popular more than a decade previously wearing heavy makeup approached the two men on the other side of the bar. Loki looked at her curiously.

"Hi fellas! What's your poison?" she asked. Loki looked to Selvig in confusion, taking the term poison literally.

"The usual." Selvig said to Rita.

"And what about you, tall, dark and handsome?" she asked Loki flirtatiously.

"Ale, please." Loki answered uncertainly. He watched as Rita filled two large glass mugs from the tap and also filled a shot glass from a bottle, setting a mug in front of each man and the shot glass next to Selvig's.

"Thanks, Rita." said Selvig.

"Thank you." said Loki. Rita moved farther down the bar as another man approached and sat down.

"Is she…?" Loki asked.

"Is she what?"

"The paint...her face..."

"Oh! No, no. Not that I'm aware. She does lay it on pretty thick though, in more ways than one, but I suppose when you depend on tips…" Selvig answered.

Loki raised his glass to his lips then made a face, setting it back onto the bar.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Beer...ale...I'm guessing you've never had American beer."

"It's vile."

"It's certainly not like the European variety. Takes some getting used to. I'll show you a trick." Selvig said, calling Rita back over and ordering an extra shot of whiskey. Rita sat it on the bar, giving Selvig a smile, before hurrying off to assist another customer once again. Picking up the shot glass in front of him and the one Rita had just sat down, he poured one into his mug and the other into Loki's. "Give that a try." Loki raised the mug again tentatively and took another swig. "Better?" Loki took another long drink, to Selvig's amazement emptying half the tall glass mug. "I guess so."

"Yes, thank you." Loki replied.

"Your brother. Tell me about him. Unless you'd rather not talk about it. If not, I understand."

"He was a good man. A far better one than myself I now realize. We were very different from each other, as day is to night. We fought at each other's side during many battles. I'm afraid I didn't appreciate him as I should have..." Loki said, looking down into his glass.

"That's usually how it goes. You said you fought together. You were both in the military?"

"Military?" Loki asked.

"The armed forces….the army...navy...the RAF? Royal marines?" Selvig responded.

"Yes." Loki answered simply. Selvig decided against asking for more specifics.

"So what happened?"

"We were hunting in the forest...we were taken by surprise. He was run through with a sword." Loki explained. Selvig appeared shocked.

"A sword? That's a rather unique murder weapon these days. And you believe this Coulson you asked about, S.H.I.E.L.D was involved?"

"There were four assailants. I was subdued by one, unable to come to his aid. Thor slayed two of the remaining three, the two survivors escaped. One of the fallen had this on his person." Loki said, removing a card from his pocket and handing it off to Selvig. Selvig examined it before handing it back to Loki.

"Your brother's name was Thor...like the Norse God of Thunder? Odin's son?" Loki looked to Selvig in amazement at his mention of his father's name and his recognition of Thor's.

"Yes….you've heard of us-them?"

"Of course. I was told the stories as a child. Odin...Thor...Loki...when I used to get in trouble as a boy, I'd tell my mother that Loki made me do it." Selvig said, chuckling before taking another drink from his mug.

"Why would you say such a thing?" Loki asked, trying not to sound incredulous.

"You know...he's the God of Mischief." Selvig explained. "I'm sure my mother would have said I gave him a run for his money."

"I rather doubt that." Loki said, finishing the last of his drink.

"So you were there, you saw it happen...why do you think they left you alive? You're a witness." Selvig asked, suspicious of Loki's story. Loki was reminded of Sif's accusations. Why had he told Selvig the truth? It would have been far better to lie. He'd never had any scruples against lying in the past, even to his father.

"They were wearing masks. I couldn't see their faces. I'm determined to learn the answer to that question." Loki replied. As Selvig listened to Loki and took note of his demeanor, he found himself more convinced that Loki was telling the truth. But then a S.H.I.E.L.D secret agent would be an expert at convincing deception, he reminded himself. Selvig finally finished his own drink. Loki was looking across the bar at two men at the pool table finishing their match, replacing the cues. 

"How about we have another drink and play a round?" Selvig asked.

"I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with the sport."

"You've never played pool?" Selvig asked, finding it hard to believe. He knew pool to be a staple activity on most military bases. He recalled Loki's initial reaction to walking into the bar as well. Visiting the pub was an even more popular activity for a military man. His suspicions were aroused once again. "The basics are pretty simple. I'll teach you."

"Alright." Loki agreed. He was beginning to relax somewhat, not from the alcohol, which was having little to no effect on him due to his physiology, but merely from becoming more accustomed to his surroundings. He was even finding himself enjoying the music, so unlike anything he had ever heard before. A new song began to play, this one a disco tune with a catchy beat from Rita's preferred era, Loki listening to the lyrics, finding that they spoke to him...something about an inferno, burning things down. Selvig summoned Rita once again, ordering two boilermakers, this time Loki pouring the shot himself into his glass as both men left the bar, drinks in hand, making their way to the pool table.

"Pool's essentially a game of geometry and physics but as I said, the rules themselves are pretty simple." Selvig said, racking the balls before grabbing a cue and handing it to Loki before taking one himself. He moved Loki to the end of the table and placed the cue ball on the green felt as he explained the rules and instructed Loki on the proper way to strike the cue ball with the cue. "You break. I'll take stripes, you're solids." he told Loki.

Selvig stood back, picking up his drink from the small table nearby. Loki positioned himself as he had seen the men at the table previously do and as Selvig had instructed. Loki sent the cue ball into the others.

Selvig watched as the balls separated, spreading out. Selvig came close to spitting out the drink he had just taken from his mug, almost choking to avoid doing so, as he watched all the solid balls find their way into the various pockets, leaving only the striped still on the table.

"How the hell did you do that?"


	9. Chapter 9

"That wasn't beginner's luck. Even Steve Rogers couldn't have done that…" Selvig said, no longer attempting to hide his suspicion. "Who are you...really?" Selvig asked.

Loki was more than intelligent enough to realize when the jig was up. He had two choices. He could leave, retrieve his pack and the disguised Mjolnir and abandon his association with Selvig's party or he could come clean and request Selvig's continued assistance in his mission. He had come to the conclusion that it would be difficult to accomplish his mission without the aid of a mortal ally. Besides, it seemed as if fate had brought them together, that their meeting had been somehow preordained. What were the chances that the first mortal he would come across would be from the lands where his father had once held sway?

Selvig, still holding a pool cue in his right hand, his drink in his left, felt the texture of the smooth wood change, his grip expanding around it, now finding himself holding a snake which bent the upper portion of its body to stare into his face, flicking its forked tongue.

"Shit!" Selvig cried out, jumping back, as he swiftly released the snake, almost dropping his drink as well, the snake reverting back to a pool cue before striking the floor. A few heads turned in their direction at the disturbance before returning their attention to their drinks and conversation.

"Whatever mischief you wrought as a child was of your own volition. I had nothing to do with it. I'm quite sure I was much too busy fomenting my own." Loki told Selvig.

Loki walked towards Selvig to retrieve his drink from the small table behind him, Selvig shuffling aside and backing away at Loki's approach appearing gobsmacked as well as fearful, almost tripping over the pool cue that remained lying on the floor. Loki raised his mug, emptying it though it had been almost full.

"I'll tell you everything you wish to know..." Loki said, then peered down at his empty mug, "if you would be so kind as to provide me with another drink."

"Yes...yes, of course…" Selvig said, looking across the room and spying an empty booth in the corner, no one seated nearby. Selvig picked up the discarded pool cue and placed it in the rack, Loki handing the one in his hand off to him, Selvig replacing it as well then taking Loki's empty mug from him. "Follow me…" Selvig led Loki to the booth, setting his drink on the table, Loki seating himself. "I'll be right back." he said, heading to the bar, Loki's empty mug in hand.

Loki sat, awaiting Selvig's return, pondering whether he was making the right decision. There seemed to be no other option. Loki decided there was no cause for worry. If Selvig told others what he was about to tell him, knowing how closed minded Midgardians were known to be, they would never believe him, thinking his words to be the ravings of a lunatic, that he was delusional. He'd likely end up locked away in an institution.

Loki listened to the lyrics of the song that had just begun playing a few moments before. The tune sounded somewhat merry, the singer crooning about joy and fun and 'seasons in the sun' yet the words also spoke of the singer's approaching death, the contrast catching Loki's attention and putting him into a reflective mood. Living under Thor's great shadow and all that came with it, it had been easy for him to overlook and to forget that they had also shared good times together, had had their share of fun and laughs and moments of camaraderie.

Selvig returned with a small tray holding two more mugs of beer and two shot glasses of whiskey and sat it on the table before seating himself. He pushed the tray with the other mug and shot glass aside, grabbing hold of the handle of the still almost full mug he had brought with him to the table.

"I have a feeling I'm going to need it." Selvig said. He noticed that the expression on Loki's face had changed since he had left him to procure more drinks, Loki appearing sullen. "Are you alright?" Selvig asked.

"This composition...it recalls to me the past." Loki replied before pouring the shot of whiskey into the beer, rendering it palatable to him and taking a drink, emptying a third of the mug. Selvig appeared confused for a moment.

"You mean the song. Music can do that. You're speaking of your brother?"

"All that I told you before is true except for my identity."

"You're telling me I'm to believe that you're Loki...the Loki…"

"Yes. You're not yet convinced? Do you have need of another demonstration?"

"No! No..."

"Most, I dare say almost all of the stories you were told growing up are fictions, myths. However, we do exist...Asgard...my father, Odin, Frigga, my mother, myself of course, my brother Thor...at least he did. His soul now rests in Valhalla."

"How could a god be killed by something as simple as a sword?"

"We aren't gods. We are born, we live, and we die as do the mortals of Midgard, though our lifespans are far longer...five thousand years on average, give or take a few centuries, if we are not felled by means other than age. I myself am now nearly fifteen hundred years old. We are of course far stronger and resilient than mortals. There are few diseases to which we are susceptible and we have superior knowledge when it comes to healing the body. The sword that was used to kill Thor is believed to have been enchanted by magic. If it had not been, he would have almost certainly survived such a wound."

"You're saying that you're aliens...extraterrestrials. I suppose it would make sense that a far less advanced society long ago would have believed such beings to be gods. So the man 'mortals' called the God of Thunder is dead. But that wasn't supposed to happen until Ragnarok, the end of the universe or the world depending on how the story was interpreted."

"Another fiction. We know no more about what the future holds than mortals do, though some Asgardians are able to glimpse bits and pieces, but it's akin to reading one paragraph of an entire chapter of a book. My mother has this ability but chooses not to use it. It can be dangerous. A vision taken out of context can be misinterpreted."

"You had quite a part in that story yourself. You were to be the one to instigate it, Ragnarok, after you broke free from imprisonment. You were supposed to have pissed off the other gods and been chained to a rock, a serpent placed above you dripping venom." Selvig informed Loki. Loki gave Selvig a grin.

"I believe I know from whence that story originated. Thor and I were children. My father had brought us to Midgard for the first time to visit the people of those lands, your ancestors. I played one of many pranks that day, this time on my brother. I turned him into a frog. I'd been practicing and planning that particular trick for months. It's rather challenging to convert one from one form to another. Illusions are far simpler. It was quite an advanced trick for one my age at the time."

"You're right, my mother would have been wrong." Selvig responded in disbelief. There was still a part of him that couldn't bring itself to believe Loki's claim of his true identity, though he could at the moment think of no other explanation for what he had seen. Loki, still grinning, continued his story.

"When I returned him to his original form he was, shall we say, displeased. In retaliation, he chained me to a rock. My brother loved serpents, but myself, at least at that time, not so much. He located one and placed it in the branch of a tree that hung over the rock, knowing that I would fear it falling from the branch onto myself."

"How would S.H.I.E.L.D. have travelled to Asgard to kill your brother? Where would they have gotten a magic sword, and why would they?"

"I have no answers to those questions. That's why I'm here." Loki paused for a moment. "I've replayed those few moments in my mind countless times hoping to find a clue that would lead me to those answers. Perhaps it would be helpful if you could see what occurred for yourself. Maybe as a Midgardian and one of the more intelligent of your species, you may notice a clue I've missed."

"You have a video of it?" Selvig asked in surprise. "Like on television…" Selvig attempted to clarify, noticing Loki's confusion.

"Not exactly." Loki said. He reached out towards Selvig and before the man could react, placed his palm on Selvig's forehead. Within Selvig's mind, it was as if he stood in Loki's place in the forests of Asgard, vividly living all that Loki had seen and experienced only a few days before.

Loki removed his hand from Selvig's forehead and took hold of his mug, lifting it and taking another long drink before sitting it down and staring down into it, his shoulders slumped. As he had shared his memory with Selvig, he had himself been forced to relive it once again.

Selvig had no doubt whatsoever now that Loki was speaking the truth. He reached for his mug as well, finishing off what was left in it. Immediately afterwards he slid the empty mug aside and, his hands shaking, grabbed the full one from the tray, dumping the shot into it and chugging from it, emptying half of it before sitting it down. Loki looked up from his mug and stared at him in silent surprise.

"I've just had a god in my brain." Selvig said in explanation.

"As I've said, we're not gods." Loki reminded him.

"Close enough." Selvig responded.

The two men continued conversing, though there was not much more to be said regarding Loki's mission itself, except for one inquiry he made of Selvig that might assist him in that mission that Selvig said he would look into. Loki regaled Selvig with a few tales of his and his brother's adventures, Selvig having coaxed Loki into recalling happier times with his brother, noticing that Loki seemed to have slipped into a depressive state since sharing his memory of Thor's murder with him, knowing that was often beneficial to those in mourning.

Loki had eventually turned the conversation around to Selvig who by this time, having visited Rita once again for more drinks for himself and Loki, was more than happy to share his life story with the man he had once thought to be a myth. Loki did not at all come across to him as the dark, dishonest and evil troublemaker destined to initiate the destruction of the world and as near a figure to Lucifer as there was in Norse mythology that those tales had painted him to be.

Selvig was now clearly drunk while Loki, who had imbibed just as many, was only experiencing mild effects, though he had loosened up considerably since their arrival hours previously. He almost felt as if he were beginning to mesh with his surroundings, with the Midgardians in the bar, no longer feeling a sense of standing out among them.

"So...have you got a girl back there? I think Darcy might have eyes for you…" Selvig said, laughing drunkenly, "Wait...no…nevermind. I wouldn't even wish that on the Devil himself. Hopefully I don't end up taking him out for drinks next."

"I have no interest in your women." Loki stated.

"They aren't 'my' women. Jane is the daughter of an old colleague of mine and a former student. Darcy's...well….Darcy's Darcy. I suppose she has her uses, though I'm still waiting to discover them."

"I mean I have no interest in any women." Loki said, then realized how easily his statement could and likely would be misinterpreted. Perhaps the alcohol was affecting him more than he had believed.

"Oh, you're-" Selvig began, Loki quickly attempting to correct his mistake before Selvig could finish.

"No. Would it be an issue if I were?" Loki asked, knowing that many Midgardians were backwards and had not advanced past an immature and irrational inability to accept those of a different persuasion.

"Of course not. Not for me anyway. I have several friends and acquaintances...though if you were I would tell you in this section of the country some people are less accepting of that than in others."

"Not unlike many searching for their identity and their place in the universe, as a younger man, barely a man really, I had my...adventures, I suppose you could say...but what I meant was that I came here seeking my brother's killers. I have no interest in the women of Midgard. There would be many impediments, not the least of which would be our vastly different lifespans."

"Yes, I can see how that could put a wrench in things." Selvig replied.

"There is someone...I'm not sure where it will lead as of yet...there are difficulties...she's a chambermaid in the palace...I secured the position for her…"

"She's thought to be unsuitable...beneath you?" Selvig asked.

"Station and status mean little. It's her family...rather one particular member's history. I'm certain however that in time any suspicions will be overcome...if things were to progress."

"Do you love her?" Selvig asked. Loki was silent for a moment, contemplating.

"I'm not sure I know what that means...love of that sort. I suppose I'm still figuring that out. And you? You say that Jane was a student...so the two of you are not-"

"Oh! No..no...of course not. I'm a lifelong bachelor. Just never met the right person...and with my studies when I was younger and then my work, there just wasn't a lot of time left to devote to much else."

"Do you regret it?" Loki asked. Selvig's drunken smile and his convivial demeanor faded momentarily.

"Sometimes. But we all must live with the choices we've made. I'm not dead yet, perhaps someday…" Selvig answered, emptying the mug in front of him.

"I thought for a time it would be the same for me, though having the time was not the issue. Thor was the one who garnered the interest of women. Those few that showed any interest in myself I was to learn were only hoping to get to him through me or because they wanted something they believed due to my position I could grant them. I'm afraid it may be even more difficult now as I'm to be king. There are many who would wish to be queen….to know who is sincere in their affections…"

"Why do you believe this woman to be?" Selvig asked.

"My brother's death has opened my eyes to many things. I realize now that I've often pushed others away...I did so with her as well...yet unlike others she refused to yield. She's never asked anything of me...all I've granted her has been of my own volition. But more than that...something she said...that she would gladly give her life for my own. They're mere words, anyone could say them...of all people I know how simple it is to say a thing and to believe and do the opposite. It was the way she said them."

"Well.. It sounds to me like you have what we 'mortals' call 'a keeper.'" Selvig said, his words slurred, placing a hand heavily on Loki's shoulder, the drunken smile returning to his face.

"Perhaps..I suppose time will tell." Loki replied. "Speaking of time, the hour grows late. We should return."

"I suppose you're right," Selvig said, sliding out of the booth and standing unsteadily. "I'll go pay the tab." Selvig clumsily removed his wallet from his back pocket as he stood swaying from side to side, struggling to remain on his feet, seemingly having difficulty removing a card from it.. Loki stood from the booth, taking the wallet from his hand

"May I be of assistance?" Loki asked. Selvig pointed to a credit card, Loki removing it, handing Selvig back his wallet.

"Just give that to Rita and she'll ring it up." Selvig told him before sinking heavily down to seat himself on the end of the booth seat.

Loki approached the bar. Rita, seeing him coming, met him there, Loki handing her the card. She looked to her right across the room to the booth at Selvig.

"You two calling it a night? I don't think I've ever seen Erik tie one on like that before. Are you celebrating something? Some great discovery?"

"In a manner of speaking." Loki answered. Rita rang up the tab, charging it to the card.

"Have a good rest of your night. You sure he'll make it back ok? I know it's not far. You walked here, right?" Rita asked, concerned.

"Yes, we'll be fine." Loki answered.

"You certainly seem to be a fella who can hold his liquor. I wouldn't think you'd even been drinking. I'm impressed." Rita said with a smile. "I didn't catch your name…"

"Lucas...Lucas King." Loki answered.

"Well, Mr. King, I hope to see you again." Rita said, handing Loki back Selvig's card which he slipped into his pocket before returning to the booth to retrieve Selvig.

*********************

After returning to the old service station and getting the drunken Selvig settled into bed, Jane had found a set of lounge pants and an old T-shirt of Selvig's for Loki to sleep in. Stepping out of the RV after changing, he had heard the sound of music, tracing it to an old radio setting on the desk that held Jane's computer. Asking to borrow it, he had taken it with him up to the roof. It had taken him a few minutes to figure out how to operate it and to tune it to different stations, finally settling on one playing music similar to what he had heard in the tavern. He now lay on one of the lounge chairs on the roof under a blanket, looking up at the stars and listening.

I...I will be king and you...you will be queen. Though nothing will drive them away, we can beat them just for one day. We can be heroes just for one day…

"Bowie fan, huh?" Loki heard Jane's voice say. He had been so engrossed in the music he hadn't heard or noticed her approach. "Of course you are. You need anything else? More blankets? It can get a little chilly up here at night."

"No, I'm fine. Thank you."

"So what's up with Erik? I've never seen him that drunk before. Did he lose a bet or something? Did you challenge him to a contest? You don't seem any worse for wear." Jane asked.

"We were conversing. He must have simply lost track…"

"It must have been an interesting conversation. After what you've been through, I would have thought if either of you were to come back that wasted it would be you. You're stronger than you look." Jane commented, recalling Loki's entrance carrying the drunken Selvig over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "So...if you find who killed your brother, what do you plan to do?"

"They'll answer for their crime." Loki replied.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s a government agency. They usually protect their own. But you already know that, don't you? Are you one of them? Why are you really here?" Jane asked.

"I hadn't heard of S.H.I.E.L.D. until two days ago. All that I've told you about my brother is true. The strange thing is...if anyone had told me a week ago, a month ago...that I would mourn him as I do now, I would not have believed it possible. There were times I thought perhaps I would be capable of killing him myself."

"He wasn't a good man then?" Jane asked, walking over and sitting on the other lounge chair. "Is that why he was killed? Was he involved in something? Drugs? Organized crime?"

"No. Nothing of the sort. He was the best of men. He was loved so dearly by everyone that I'm afraid there was little left for me. That was most certainly the case with my father. It was only after my brother's death that I learned why. I was adopted. It had been kept a secret from me all these centur-years." Loki said, correcting himself.

"They waited until you were grown...and right after your brother's death to tell you?" Jane asked.

"My mother said they didn't want me to feel different, though I did...every day. My true father had abandoned me, left me to die as an infant."

"Oh my god." said Jane, aghast.

"It should have been me. I was marked for death long ago. My father believed he could defy fate and my brother paid the price."

"I don't believe that. I don't believe in luck or fate. We like for things to make sense, to feel like there's some sort of order to the universe, but the universe is a chaotic place. Erik would tell you the same thing."

"That's certainly true. My father has spent his life attempting to bring order to it. Soon it will fall to me to do the same."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked, puzzled.

"I'll explain another day, tomorrow perhaps."

"It's ok. I'll let you get some sleep." Jane said, rising.

"Thank you...for the kindness you've shown me. I didn't expect it here. I'm not sure why...but I have a feeling that my brother would have liked you very much." Loki said.

"From what you've said of your brother, I'll take that as a compliment." Jane said with a smile. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Loki said. Jane left the roof leaving Loki once again alone staring up at the stars, his eyelids grew heavy as another song began to play over the radio like a lullaby, the words seeming to fit nicely with what...or rather who...now came to mind as sleep began to overtake him.

Maybe I'm amazed at the way you love me all the time, maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you, Maybe I'm amazed at the way you pulled me out of time and hung me on a line, maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you...

*********************

It was one of the rare days when Phil Coulson found himself actually walking into his office in the morning. Sitting his coffee he held in one hand and the folder he held in the other down on his desk, he sat, sliding the folder in front of him and opening it.

"Good morning. Fancy seeing you here." a familiar voice to Coulson said, Coulson looking up to see Nick Fury standing by the door.

"I know, I shouldn't get used to it." Coulson said.

"How was Portland?" Fury asked.

"Lovely this time of year. It only rained for thirty five of the forty eight hours I was there." Coulson quipped.

"Considering why you were there, I'm thinking you didn't give a damn about the rain."

"Not really, no."

"So what's on the agenda for today?" Fury asked.

"Seeing as you're here I thought that you had something for me." Coulson said to Fury.

"I might. Not sure yet."

Coulson opened the folder, skimming the first page of the document inside, next examining what looked like satellite photographs on the page behind it.

"Some strange energy surge in New Mexico picked up by satellites….probably nothing…I'll likely end up passing it on to astrophysics."

"No word yet from our new friends?" Fury asked.

"Nothing yet. They might have gotten cold feet. I'll give them some more time. Sometimes it takes awhile to get past the jitters." Coulson answered. "If I hear anything you'll be the first to know."

"I should always be the first to know." Fury commented. "Word on the street is we might have another new friend and not a new head on the old one. In competition with them."

"What 'street' did you hear this on? No one tells me anything."

"I'll send you what I have so far. If it's true, you're going to be seeing this office even less often." Fury said stepping out and closing the door behind him. Coulson thumbed through the papers in the folder before going back to the satellite pictures, examining them more closely, an expression of puzzlement coming over his face. Opening his desk drawer, he pulled out a magnifying glass.


	10. Chapter 10

Loki had awakened, throwing off the blanket covering him, the morning sunlight rapidly raising the temperature on the rooftop so that it was quickly becoming uncomfortable. Returning the blanket, pillow, and radio to Jane who was already up and working at her computer, thanking her again for the use of them, he stepped into the service station's former office to change so as not to disturb Selvig who he was sure would not be rising for some time, Loki certain he would regret doing so when he finally did. Reluctantly, he returned his clothing to the white and khaki shades. Loki informed Jane, who had turned her attention from the computer to a device in her hands, that he was going off on another 'excursion' and would return. She had nodded but he wasn't at all sure that she had processed what he had said, so intensely was she studying whatever it was she was viewing.

Loki arrived at his destination, Darcy having pointed it out to him the day before, just as a man Loki assumed to be the proprietor of the business was putting his key in the door. Though not yet officially open, he had invited Loki inside. The transaction had not taken long and after being instructed on how to use it and producing Selvig's card he had pocketed the night before, Loki walked out with a phone in his possession.

*********************

Phil Coulson continued to study the photographs, holding the magnifying glass over one and then another, disbelieving what he appeared to be seeing when a call came in on the cellphone he had placed on his desk nearby. Reaching for it, Coulson put the phone to his ear.

"Coulson." he answered.

"Coulson. Phil Coulson? Of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division?" a voice Coulson didn't recognize said through the phone.

"Yes. Speaking." Coulson answered curiously as he sat up straight in his chair.

"I have your card..." the voice informed him.

"In the bottom right hand corner…what's the number?" Coulson said to the caller.

"Three hundred twenty five."

"Thank you. What's your location?" Coulson asked.

"New Mexico. It's a small city by the name of Puente Antiguo." Coulson turned to the computer on his desk, entering the information.

"I can be there by six. Is there a place you'd like to meet?" Coulson asked.

"The Bridge Bar."

"Alright. Six o'clock. The Bridge Bar." Coulson repeated before the call disconnected.

Coulson sat the phone down, running the short conversation through his mind again before picking up the phone once more.

Loki looked down at the phone in his hand as he put Coulson's card back into his pocket. That had been too easy. The elaborate story Loki had concocted had not been necessary. No matter, Loki thought, he would soon have Coulson and the answers he sought. He found himself once again passing the clothing store. He peered through the window at the mannequin. He would sleep in his own bed that night and he did not plan on doing so alone.

Passing the business next to the clothing store, a woman appearing to be in her 40's wearing a gray skirt suit had just unlocked the door and turned the sign to display the word "open." Loki's eyes perused the baubles in the window, gold and gemstones glittering. The phone call had been far shorter than he expected. He had time. Unable to resist, he stepped inside.

*****************************

Loki had returned to Selvig and Jane's base to find Selvig awake, or at least a simulation of it, obviously nursing a hangover, a glass of water that appeared to be fizzing in his hand as he sat at the table where Loki and Darcy had eaten the day before.

"That's the last time I drink with a god." Selvig told him.

"I'm not a-"

"I know, I know...you're not a god, but you sure as hell drink like one."

"I've contacted Coulson. We're to meet at the tavern at six o'clock."

"Six….today?" Selvig asked, shocked.

"Yes.."

"I have an idea...what you said you needed. But we can't check in until 2:30. Will that be enough time?" Selvig said.

"That should be sufficient." Loki told him. "I neglected to return this to you." Loki said, taking Selvig's credit card from his pocket and handing it to him.

"Oh, yes. Thank you." Selvig said, placing it back in his wallet. As he did so, his phone rang. Putting his wallet back into his pocket, he reached into his other for his phone and answered the call. "Hank...I was just about to call you…"

Loki turned away from Selvig, walking back outside. Holding out his hand, the leather bag appeared in his palm once again. Loki emptied its contents into his hand. The sunlight from above enhanced the rainbow effect within their center. He stood staring at the stones as if in a trance.

"Do you truly wish to see what they will show you? I warn you brother, it can only bring you pain." Loki heard Thor's voice speaking to him. .

Loki looked up from the stones only to realize that his surroundings had changed. He was now standing in a forest, a familiar one. Before him, a few feet away, stood Thor.

"I have to know."

"What is seen cannot be unseen."

"Something has changed." said Loki.

"What is done cannot be undone. This is who you are, who you always were." Thor said.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Loki looked up from the stones, the vision having ended as Darcy's voice broke the trance, once again finding himself standing outside the old service station. Darcy stood in front of him waving her hand in front of his eyes. "What are those? Are they like those fortune telling stones?" she asked.

"You could say that." Loki said, putting the stones back into the bag and slipping them into his pocket.

"Maybe you can tell mine later. I had a reading done about a year ago, just for fun. Of course Jane and Erik say it's bullshit. But she did tell me I was going to meet a British guy and here you are so I guess she was right. We're going to get breakfast. You coming?"

"I have yet to obtain any currency." Loki replied.

"Don't sweat it. I'm sure Erik will cover you. Not like we'd let you starve or anything." Darcy told him. Loki hadn't eaten since the sandwich the day before and realized he was indeed quite hungry. "You sure you're alright? You're kinda spacey."

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine." Loki said, though he knew he was not. Seeing Thor again alive though only in a vision, even if it hadn't actually been him and was only a trick of the stones or his own mind, had affected him. He played the short conversation over again.

"Let's go." Darcy said as Jane and Selvig exited the building.

*********************

The young woman with the copper hued hair dressed in a long ankle length skirt, blouse and sweater listened in silence to the sound of the sea, feeling the slight chill of the wind coming off of it on her skin. She stood before the cairn of large, smooth stones that had been constructed on the seashore that served as a memorial and place of mourning.

There was much and many to mourn. There was Asgard itself, after that were those who had not survived Hela's wrath and Ragnarok. Of those that had survived, nearly half had fallen as a result of Thanos' unprovoked attack, a true case of "kicking someone when they're down" if there ever was one. Finally there were those who had recently been rendered dust, also at the instigation of the Mad Titan, as he was known.

The woman held in one hand a bouquet of flowers she had collected, in the other what appeared to be a crown featuring long, bending horns, sculpted of clay that had then been fired and afterwards painted gold by her own hand.

Kneeling before the cairn, the woman leaned the crown against it, placing the flowers in front of it and bowed her head.

"Guardian of souls, as Loki has come to you, know that he was loved. He was a soaring spirit and a brave warrior. Watch over him and welcome him with honor and glory. Loki, son of Odin, I bid you to take your place in the halls of Valhalla-"

"Where the brave live forever." both the woman and the man whose voice she heard from a few feet behind her said, finishing the blessing. Verda turned as she rose to see Thor.

"My king…" Verda said in surprise. "I did not know you had returned to us."

"I arrived only a short time ago. Thanos is dead. I return now to stand with Asgard. You have come to pay tribute to my brother?"

"Yes. I do so each day."

"You knew him?"

"No...though I owe my life to him twice over."

"How so?" Thor asked, curious.

"When I was a young girl, I had run away from my sister. She had threatened to do me harm. I ended up in the forest but became lost. One tree looked as any other, the paths seemed to go in circles. I heard a boy crying. I thought perhaps he was lost like me. If I could find him, maybe we could find our way out together, or at least we wouldn't be alone. I was walking in the direction I thought he may be when the ground opened beneath me and I fell into it. I feared no one would find me. I would die there. Your brother heard my cries and helped me out of the pit and to find my way out of the forest. I didn't then know who he was. I had been so frightened I didn't ask his name and he never told me. It was only much later that I realized it had been Loki who had saved me. I was sure he had forgotten me. He'd probably forgotten all about it by the next day. I never did, but I was too afraid to speak to him. I didn't feel as if I were worthy. Then after what my sister wrought, I was certain I would not be welcome to do so." Verda explained, telling her story.

"It was likely one of his own traps he had set for me that you fell into. I believe I remember him speaking of your rescue. He returned home quite pleased with himself. If I recall correctly he remained so for at least a week. Who is your sister?" Thor asked, puzzled.

"Lorelei, the criminal...she was sentenced by your father to life in the dungeon. People were afraid of me. I was sure a son of Odin would be warned against me."

"Knowing Loki as I did, I'm certain if he had thought it would have vexed our father he would have been more than happy to speak to you as well as to be seen with you, though I doubt that my father would have held your sister's crimes against you." Thor said, unable to help grinning, though it quickly faded as he looked to the cairn, recalling why they had both come to that place.

"You came here to be alone. I should go." Verda said. Thor approached the cairn, bending down and picking up the crown Verda had left there.

"You crafted this?"

"Yes."

"It is beautifully done. Would you mind...?" Thor asked.

"It is yours."

"Thank you...for honoring him." Thor said.

"I will do so again tomorrow." replied Verda before walking away, leaving Thor staring mournfully down at the crown in his hands.

*********************

Selvig, still appearing a bit ragged around the edges after the night before, slipped the key into the lock of the old motel room's door. It was an older establishment from the days of the motor inns, two stories, all the rooms accessible from outside. There being few points of interest within or around Puente Antiguo to attract vacationers and tourists, there were only a couple such places in town.

Opening the door, Selvig stepped aside, Loki, carrying his pack, entering and perusing the room. It was slightly outdated, its last refurbishment having been a few years prior, though it was in good repair and clean. A queen sized bed was located against the wall to the right, a television sitting on top of a chest of drawers on the opposite wall along with an armchair in the corner and a desk and chair. Selvig followed Loki inside, closing the door behind him.

"This way…" Selvig said, walking past Loki towards the far side of the room, Loki following. Selvig opened another door and flipped the light switch, revealing a bathroom with a tub and shower combination as well as a sink and a toilet. "Will this do?" he asked. Loki walked into the bathroom and to the tub, looking down into it.

"Yes, I believe so."

"Alright." Selvig said, moving past Loki and showing him how to stop the drain and run the water and adjust the temperature. "Well then, I'll leave you to it...whatever 'it' is. I'll be right outside."

"Thank you." Loki said as Selvig exited the room, closing the door behind him. Loki opened his pack, pulling out a small votive candle he had taken from among a few others Jane had at the service station. He sat it on the vanity before sitting his pack on the closed lid of the toilet and then seated himself on the edge of the tub, turning on the water once again and adjusting the temperature to a level he found comfortable. Standing, he began to undress.

Folding his clothing, he sat them on the toilet with his pack. He had no need of matches or a lighter for the candle, as a flame burst into life on the wick. The tub sufficiently filled, Loki turned off the faucet and held out his palm, producing once again the bag of stones. Removing the stones from it, putting the bag on top of his clothing, he held them in his hand as he used the other to turn off the light, leaving the room bathed in the glow of the candlelight.

Loki entered the tub, sliding his body under the warm water, his muscles relaxing. He looked to the stones in his hand once more before lowering the hand in which they rested under the water and closed his eyes, slipping down farther into the tub until his head was under the water as well.

Behind his closed eyelids, Loki saw only darkness...then a flash of blinding light. Loki found himself standing in what appeared to be a completely white room, though he could see no corners or walls. A woman stood before him in a long, powder blue gown, her wavy snow white hair flowing far past her waist, her eyelashes white as well, her eyes a piercing deep blue.

"You have come to us believing your path to have been altered. You wish to see what was but is not, what would be but will be no longer?" she asked.

"Yes…" Loki answered.

"Are you certain you wish to know? Once you have seen you cannot unsee. Once you know, you cannot unknow."

"There are questions I must have answered." 

"Take my hand." The woman said, reaching out. As he took hold of her hand, Loki was jolted by a barrage of images flashing through his consciousness. Images of Thor, his father, Laufey, einherjar lying frozen to death within Odin's vault, he looking up at Thor and Odin, hanging over the edge of a decimated Bifrost, the void of space below him….

Selvig sat with his upper half resting against the headboard of the bed holding the remote to the television in his hand, having switched it on, and flipped through the channels, stopping on a twenty four hour news station, purposely keeping the volume low as to not disturb Loki. He had little need to hear what the newscasters were speaking about as the images of chaos, death and destruction spoke for themselves. Selvig thought of Loki's appointment later that afternoon and couldn't help but wonder if S.H.I.E.L.D had been involved in any way with what he was now viewing. What had Pym meant when he'd said that he'd suspected for some time that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been compromised?

He had done his best to assure Hank Pym that Loki had turned out to be on the level and that there was no cause for concern. He had not disclosed Loki's true identity and that of his deceased brother or his origin to Pym. He had also yet to disclose it to Jane and Darcy. For the moment at least, the fewer that knew the better, Selvig believed. Before they had come to the motel, to pass the time after breakfast until the motel opened for check ins of new guests, he had taken Loki to the library, Loki perusing their offerings on Norse mythology. As he'd read the stories, he had vacillated between laughter, horror, and disgust. For a few he had related what had actually occurred that he believed could be the seed of truth behind them. Selvig had equated it to being somewhat like the old game of telephone. It had left him wondering what other ancient myths and legends of various cultures had begun from a seed of truth and how different that truth was from what had finally made it to paper after centuries of retelling, embellishments and imagination.

In the bathroom, Loki suddenly shot up from under the water with a loud roaring cry, clumsily pulling himself from the tub, slipping over the side to sprawl on the hard, cold tiled floor, his body shaking as if he were in a deep freeze, drawing himself up into a a fetal position, the water running off his hair and body collecting in a pool under and around him.

Selvig, hearing Loki's cry, jumped from the bed, rushing to the bathroom door. Throwing it open, he spied Loki on the floor in the candlelight and flipped the light switch.

"Lok-" Selvig began to say before a hand came from behind him, covering his mouth, an arm wrapping itself around his body, dragging him away from the doorway, back into the motel room.

"Here!" Verda said, holding out a pair of Asgardian shackles.

"Why do you...no, I don't want to know." Sif said, removing her hand from Selvig's mouth and pulling his arms behind him, taking the shackles and placing them around Selvig's wrists before grabbing the back of his shirt, hauling him over to the armchair in the corner of the room and pushing him down into it. "Are you Coulson?" Sif asked as Verda rushed to the bathroom.

"No! I'm not Coulson." Selvig said.

"Sif!" Verda called from the bathroom. Sif left Selvig in the chair, returning to the bathroom as Verda attempted to lift Loki's torso off the floor. "Help me get him to the bed!" Verda exclaimed as Loki continued to shake, now babbling words and phrases that made no sense to either Sif or Verda. Sif looked at Loki's nude form with an expression of disgust before reluctantly bending over and grabbing hold of his legs, Verda his upper half. Reaching the bed, Verda pulled the blankets aside with one hand as she laid Loki's upper half into the bed, his head on the pillow, the water still dripping from his hair soaking into it. Sif moved the rest of Loki into the bed.

"Yes...please...thank you…" Sif said as Verda quickly covered him with the blankets and comforter. 

"An ant has no quarrel with a boot…..freedom is life's great lie….you will know peace…." Loki babbled, his eyes remaining closed as if he were talking in his sleep.

"What's wrong with him?" Sif asked Verda before turning to Selvig. "What did you do to him?"

"You must be truly desperate…was that her last expression? Trust? While you let her die?!...Who put me there?!" Loki babbled and raved, angrily crying out the last.

"Nothing! I only brought him here! He said he needed water, a pool…."

" I have to bring him out of it or we'll lose him, he will lose himself. Take him and go. Wait outside."

"I'm a friend. I know who he is. He told me. I'm trying to help him." Selvig said to Sif.

"He's telling the truth." Verda said to Sif. Sif grabbed Selvig's arm, raising him from the chair and removed the shackles before leading him to the door and with a hand on his back, moved him through it, closing it behind her.

"Your savior is here!" Loki cried from the bed, his body still shaking.

"Yes...yes you are...you saved me, you saved Asgard.. Loki…it's me...it's Verda...I'm here. Come back to me." Verda pleaded, her eyes becoming teary.

"I, Loki, prince of Asgard….Odinson…. the rightful king of the Jotunheim...god of mischief...do hereby pledge to you my undying...undying…"

"Loki!"

"Undying fidelity….dying….I'm dying….." Loki said, his voice growing strained, hoarse, as if he were being choked.

"No! Loki! You are not dying! I won't let you die! Not again! Listen to me! You have to come back!."

"Dying…."

Desperate, not knowing what else to do, Verda slapped Loki hard across the face, then as if wracked by guilt after the assault, quickly pressed her lips against his. After a few moments, Loki began to return her kiss, his arms raising from under the blankets, his fingers sliding into her hair. His body still shaking slightly, he opened his eyes to look into hers as she ended the kiss.

"Verda? Where…..what are you doing here? I was….how did I..."

"I'll explain later. Sif is with me. She's outside with your friend. She helped me get you into bed. " Verda told him. Loki now recalling where he was and what he had been there to do, undressing, getting into the tub, putting the stones into the water….realizing he was nude under the blankets, a grin spread across his face.

"I'm sure that made her century." Loki said. Verda smiled, breaking into a laugh.

"She's scarred for life." Verda's expression changed, her eyes again becoming tearful. "I was afraid you wouldn't come back...I was going to lose you…" Loki took Verda's face between his hands.

"You believe it's that easy to be rid of me? It would be at least as difficult as ridding myself of you...obviously I have yet to succeed."

"Do you wish to?" Verda asked.

"No…." he said, shaking his head.

"I'll get your clothes and let them know you're alright."

"They can wait." Loki told Verda, "I have something for you."

"Let me guess. It's under the blankets." Verda said with a grin.

"I'll save that particular gift for later. I don't intend to leave them waiting quite that long." Loki said, returning a grin of his own. 

"You certainly do like to flatter yourself." Verda responded with a smirk. 

"Why shouldn't I? If you could bring me my bag."

Verda slid off the bed and returned to the bathroom, grabbing Loki's pack from the toilet along with his clothing. Returning to the bed, she found Loki sitting up. After handing him the pack, he opened it, pulling out a flat rectangular box and handing it to Verda.

"What is it?" Verda said, opening the box, her eyes falling on a necklace, the gold pendant a circle and within the circle a many branched tree, tiny leaves of gold dangling from the branches, catching the light. "It's beautiful…"

"I believe it to be fit for a queen."


	11. Chapter 11

Loki assisted Verda in placing the necklace about her neck and fastening the clasp. As he had done so, he had taken note of the Midgardian clothing Verda appeared to be wearing. To his knowledge she had never been to Midgard. Of course there were books and other information available on Asgard concerning the realm. Perhaps she had consulted them...but why was she there in the first place...and with Sif of all people? The first and last time she had spoken to Sif, she had threatened to kill her. It hadn't exactly boded well for the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Loki found those questions crowded out in his mind by what he had just experienced. His heart ached recalling the vision of an einherjar informing him of his mother's death as he sat helplessly locked away in a cell after he had thoughtlessly and inadvertently sent her killer in her direction. He could still feel the Titan's grip around his neck. He could not consciously remember all of the memories of a life that he had not and would not now live. They had washed over him as a river swiftly flowing over its banks, though he was sure the entirety of it was locked away within his mind somewhere. He at least grasped the overarching theme of the narrative. What he did recall was more than enough to chill him to the marrow of his bones.

He had been correct in his feeling that it had been fate that had brought himself and Selvig together, along with Jane. They'd both had a role in his visions as well, though very different ones than they now played, at the moment Loki unable to recall every detail. 

What he remembered most from the visions, however, was not any specific event, but the pain. Not physical but of another sort, the mental and emotional equivalent of a wound not unlike Thor's that had grown and festered, rotting away who he had been. Each act he'd committed in response to that pain had only led to more of the same as if he had existed in some hellish loop. Yet there had always at his core existed a remnant of who he had once been, the man he was at the moment, the man that had once wished to be good and noble, that had wanted only to be loved and admired as Thor had been...by the people, by his father...to be seen as his brother's equal. Despite how deeply it had been buried, his brother had known and had never given up hope of somehow reaching it. He finally had as Loki had lain helpless on the floor of a hanger bay, his body jolted by a continual stream of electrical shocks. "You will always be the god of mischief, but you could be more." Thor had said to him, the words acting as if they were the key to a lock or a counter spell, dispelling an enchantment he had been under.

Unfortunately the experience had not given him any insight related to Thor's murder as he had hoped, only raising more questions, though he at least had the satisfaction of knowing he was right. The trajectory of his life had been altered, though why and how that had been accomplished he didn't know. The 'why' was at least as important as the 'how.' Based on what he could recall, he would be glad of it if it were not for Thor's death. Had the only possible way for him to avoid the madness, the darkness he had succumbed to in that aborted future been for his brother to die? It was a sobering thought.

An altogether new thought struck him...was that the motive? Was that why Thor had been murdered...for his sake? But aside from the fact that he believed there to be few who would care enough about him to wish to "save" him, and those who did would never have sacrificed Thor to do so, how could anyone have known what was to be? As he had told Selvig, there were Asgardians that were capable of glimpsing into the future, but not as extensively and in such detail as he had with the assistance of the mysterious Norns he had called upon with the stones. Besides, most of the death and destruction he had wrought that he recalled from the visions had taken place here on Midgard. But then at least two of the assailants had been Midgardian. If the motive were to prevent the havoc he had once been destined to wreak on Midgard would it not have made far more sense to end him and not Thor, who had assisted in defeating him?

Verda held the pendant in the palm of her hand, appearing to be making a thoughtful study of it. It seemed to Loki her countenance was of one that had believed something to be but a myth and now had been handed tangible proof of its existence.

"Thank you...I will wear it always." Verda said before embracing Loki. "Though as it is fit for a queen as you say, I am not worthy to do so."

"My father didn't believe me fit to be a king." Loki responded.

"As you will prove to him, your father was wrong...and not for the first time." Verda replied. Loki was somewhat shocked at Verda's statement. It had seemed to him that just about everyone else but himself believed Odin to be infallible. Thor's hero worship of their father, his blind trust that Odin was always right and never to be questioned or contradicted had been one of his traits that had always irritated Loki. Now, after what he had learned from his visions, what he could recall anyway, Loki knew he had been justified in feeling that way. "You should dress." Verda said as she spied the bag that had held the stones on top of Loki's folded clothing, picking it up. "I'll collect them." .

"No. I'll gather them. I don't wish for you to put yourself in danger."

"There is nothing they could tell me that I need to know." Verda said. Loki looked at her in astonishment. Verda appeared to read his mind, or at least his expression. "I knew what they were. I wanted to know if you did. My sister used to speak of them. She'd hoped if they did exist to possess her own. I suppose it's far easier for a Prince of Asgard to obtain such things."

"I stole them from a purveyor of rare goods I'd had dealings with in the past. I'm certain he had acquired them by similar means. I replaced them with imitations. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he has yet to realize. By the time he does, he will have no idea who it was that took them. It was not a matter of being unable to meet his price. I wanted no one to know I possess them."

"It's frightening to think of such objects falling into the hands of those who do not know their true power. It is no less terrifying to think of them falling into the hands of those that do. Even you almost destroyed yourself." Verda said.

"My father has spent his life collecting such relics in the vault in order to safeguard the universe from such events."

"The Norn Stones should join them. What did they show you?" Verda asked.

"What will no longer be. It doesn't matter."

"It does matter. There exists the same dangers." Verda paused for a moment as she sat on the edge of the bed and stared across the room at the wall as if contemplating before bowing her head. "In your visions, do you recall knowing of me?" she asked. Loki pondered the question, appearing puzzled by it, far more by the answer to it.

"No…I do not."

"That is because you didn't. I am from that future that will no longer be."

"How is that possible? Even my father is unable to traverse through time." 

"Though you did not know me, we had met once as children. You saved my life that day. When you returned to Asgard to save us from Hela, you spoke the same words you had spoken to me upon finding me in the pit."

"I remember that day. For once I was the hero. That was you?" Loki said in disbelief.

"After Thanos' attack, I had wanted to stay, to fight, to share your fate. The others lied to me. They told me that you were going with us to lead us away to safety. It wasn't until we arrived here on Midgard that I learned you were not among the survivors. Though it had been said you were dead before, I never believed it, somehow I knew...but this time…" Tears had begun to flow from Verda's eyes, down her cheeks as she called up the memories within her, as vivid to her as Loki's recent experience had been to him. Though struggling to process what Verda was telling him, he reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder. "For five years I honored you...in rain, snow, the bitterest cold, each day without fail. There were many that believed that like my sister I had lost my mind. Maybe I had. We had met only once, you had not even known my name."

"Each day...for five years?" Loki responded, bewildered.

"When the day came to fight him that had taken your life, though not a warrior, I volunteered to do so willingly. I wished to be the one to kill him, to avenge you, though I'm sure I would never have succeeded though I still don't know how it is I survived such a fray when so many others fell. As did the one who claimed that honor, I would have been pleased to die in the attempt and to join you in Valhalla. I hated Midgard and life itself in a universe without you in it.

After the battle, Thanos was dead, those he had rendered to dust by the power of the ancient stones returned to us, yet for me, nothing had changed. It was not long after that while at the monument as I honored you that a man approached me. I had never seen him before. He was not Asgardian, or at least I don't believe him to have been. He did not live among us. He said that if I would help him he would take me back home to Asgard where you would live once again. The things that had happened could be changed, your life could be saved."

"What was it he wanted from you?" Loki asked.

"There was something hidden in New Asgard. That was the name of the town where we settled here on Midgard. It had been brought there by Thor after the battle. He told me that his son was dying and that the cure was a plant that once grew on Midgard that was now extinct. He needed it so that he could go back to a time when this plant still existed and obtain it to save his son's life.

I was sure I knew where to find that which he sought and I was right. It was in the crypt under the museum in one of the sepulchers that held the bodies of the honored dead of Midgard who had fought the frost giants at your father's side long ago. Few knew of its existence. Your brother had once told me of it. I had visited him a few years before to give him a gift I had made for him for Jul. He invited me to stay for a drink. He had obviously already begun long before my arrival. He was drunk more than he was sober at that time. He rarely left his abode. We spoke of many things. He mourned for Asgard, all those that had been lost, and for you. He told me many stories of when you were growing up together."

Loki's mind continued to process the story Verda had just told him. Just as his visions had done, it left him with more questions.

"Was this man's name Coulson?"

"He did not tell me his name. He said that it was better if I didn't know. He likely thought that if I were to be discovered I couldn't give away his identity."

"What of the you that already existed when you arrived?"

"I know not what became of my past self. I went to my home but she was not there and never returned. I wasn't certain how time travel works. I thought perhaps my arrival had caused her to cease to exist. When the man took me to the past and then to the portal to Asgard, he said to continue my life as it had been, that the future would now be different. I decided to ensure that would be so. I overcame my fear. I placed myself in those places I knew you frequented."

"A Midgardian knew of a portal to Asgard?" Loki asked curiously. Before Verda could answer he moved his hand from her shoulder to grip her arm. "Did you know what was to happen to Thor? Do you know who killed my brother?" Verda looked over at him, shaking her head.

"No... if the man I met is responsible, he told me nothing of his plans. I never wished any harm to come to your brother."

"Even if it meant I would be king?"

"It mattered to me not at all if you were king. I had thought it better if you would not be. What time does a king have for any one person, even for his queen?" Verda said. Loki thought back to his childhood, how his father had had little time to spend with either of his sons and more recently, the night of Thor's funeral, how he had questioned his father's absence as he had consoled his mother himself. He now knew the reason behind it, the news of Laufey's murder, but it also made Verda's point. "I had once feared in my time that your brother would go to his death from drink. Many, including myself, tried but there was nothing anyone could do or say to heal his broken spirit."

Loki recalled the vision of his death. Thor had been subdued, helpless to come to his aid, forced to watch his brother die in front of him. It was a similar scenario in reverse that Loki had recently experienced.

"Why did you come here? Surely not to tell me this."

"If this man you search for is the same that brought me here...he told me if I told anyone my secret, if anyone came to Midgard looking to find him, he would kill them. It was then that I knew I had been played for a fool. He was not seeking a cure for his son. The thought of you alive again, going home to Asgard...I was thinking with my heart and not my head. It may have cost your brother his life. When we return I will leave the palace, I will live out my life alone and in shame as I deserve." Verda said, tears flowing once again, her head bowed.

"You will leave. You will leave my father's service. Never again will you toil for another and you will leave your chambers for my own."

*****************************

Phil Coulson, dressed in a dark suit, a pair of dark sunglasses shielding his eyes from the desert sun, stepped out of the black car in the parking lot of the bar and took stock of his surroundings as he had been trained long ago to do and as he always did. He noticed that the car in which he had arrived was already coated with a layer of dirt and dust. He was glad for once that he wasn't driving Lola, his cherry red and highly modified 1962 Corvette. His eyes fell on the old beige Pinzgauer, the military style off road vehicle parked a few vehicles from his own. He didn't see many of those around thus it had grabbed his attention. In a desert environment, it would be quite handy.

Coulson approached the bar, Rita greeting him with her customary smile.

"You in the C.I.A. or something?" Rita asked jokingly.

"Or something." Coulson responded.

"What can I get ya?"

"Nothing at the moment. I'm meeting someone here."

"That fella over there? He said he was meeting someone here too." Rita said, pointing to the same booth where Loki and Selvig had sat the night before. Once again, there was no one seated nearby. Coulson looked over to see a face that was familiar, the face of the man to whom he had given the card numbered three hundred and twenty five.

"Yes. Thank you." Coulson said, leaving the bar and making his way to the booth. Reaching it, he slid into it. "Mr. Krieger. Hello again."

"Coulson." Krieger said. The man with the dirty blond hair sitting across from Coulson, a pack on the seat next to him, was familiar to him, yet Coulson sensed something was off. He concluded the man's nose was different, somewhat crooked. Perhaps he had broken it recently...but if that was the case, he would think it would still be swollen and bruised. It had only been a week since he had met with him for the first time. His voice had also altered. Coulson heightened his guard.

"You have something for me?" Coulson asked.

"Before we speak, I'm going to have a drink, as are you. What would you like?" Krieger asked.

"Nothing, thank you. I'm here on official business." Coulson answered.

"We're in a tavern. A tavern is where one goes to drink. You will have a drink with me." Krieger answered.

"Alright. A whiskey and soda." Coulson answered. Krieger slid from the booth and approached the bar. Coulson turned, keeping a careful eye on the man as he spoke to the bartender, the blond woman pouring the drinks, placing them on a tray. Krieger returned to the booth with a tall glass mug of beer and a shot of whiskey and a smaller glass of fizzing cola.

Coulson watched Krieger empty the shot glass into the mug of beer as he lifted his own drink from the tray and took a small sip from it before sitting it down. He had watched the drink being prepared by the bartender and immediately brought to him by Krieger and had seen no opportunity for it to be adulterated, but he wasn't taking any chances.

"Is something wrong with your drink?" Krieger asked.

"No. It's very good actually. A simple drink but it always amazes me that not many are able to get it right. My compliments to the bartender."

"Rita."

"Rita....I've come a long way…" Coulson began.

"I dare say I've come much farther." Krieger responded, appearing to glance around the bar before lifting his mug and emptying half of it. Lowering his mug, he looked to the empty space across from him. Scanning the immediate vicinity once again, he slid from the booth, grabbing hold of his pack. Coulson's clothing lay in the booth where he had once sat, his pants having slid onto the floor where his socks and shoes rested. Inside the shirt he noticed movement. Holding his hand out over the table, a shoebox appeared in it. He sat the box on the table, removing the top and placing it next to it. Reaching into the buttoned shirt lying on the booth, he removed from within it a frog.

Krieger placed the frog into the box, putting the lid back onto it before rifling through the clothing. He came upon a small, round device and stored it away in a pocket on the front of the pack. Upon further searching, from under the jacket he produced a gun in a holster which he placed in his pack. Folding the clothing, Coulson's wallet in the pants pocket, Krieger removing it and looking at the contents including Coulson's ID before replacing it, he put them on top of it along with Coulson's socks and shoes. Lifting his mug, he finished the other half of his drink before sitting it down and looked at the glass that contained Coulson's. Lifting it as well, Krieger emptied it in one long swallow. Coulson was right, it was very good. Krieger, slinging his pack over his shoulder, picked up the shoebox from the table.

As Krieger crossed the bar towards the exit, two women emptied their drinks and rose from their table, following him to the door. Before exiting the bar, shielded from view by the women behind him, Krieger's form morphed into that of Loki, he once again having converted his clothing to his preferred color.

The man and woman, dressed as conservatively as Coulson had been, sitting in the car they had pulled into the parking lot a few minutes before Coulson's arrival, watched the three exit the bar and walk past their car before turning their attention back to the entrance.

Loki and the two women approached the Pinzgauer in the parking lot where Selvig sat behind the wheel. The two women climbed into the back, transforming to their original form of Sif and Verda, as Loki climbed into the passenger seat, setting his pack on the floorboard, holding the shoebox in his lap. Selvig looked at the shoebox, hearing a croaking sound emanate from within it.

"Coulson?" Selvig asked. Loki looked over at Selvig with a mischievous grin, all the answer Selvig needed. "He sounds like he has a frog in his throat."

Selvig started the vehicle, backing out of the parking spot and pulled out onto the road heading out of town.

******************************

Loki exited the vehicle first after Selvig had brought it to a stop in the desert, far from the city and the road, grabbing his pack and once again placing it over his shoulder, holding the shoebox. Selvig, Sif, and Verda followed. Loki put the shoebox down, lifting the frog from it and placing it on the arid, dry, dusty ground. Verda held out the shackles Sif had earlier returned to her possession, Loki taking them. A moment after doing so, Loki made a slight gesture with his hand. Coulson now stood nude under the desert sun, speechless, with an expression of shock and embarrassment. Looking back at the four that stood before him, especially noting the presence of the two women, he quickly covered his nether regions with both hands. Sif groaned, turning her back. It was the second time that day she had been treated to such an unwelcome sight.

"What the hell….?" Coulson managed to stammer, clearly shaken, and he was not a man easily riled. He had experienced many strange things over his years with S.H.I.E.L.D. but this took the proverbial cake. 

"Get dressed." Loki said, removing the clothing and shoes from his pack and tossing them in front of Coulson. The four waited as Coulson nervously put his clothes back on, Sif continuing to stand with her back to the man. After Coulson had dressed and tied his tie and straightened it, his hands shaking, Loki shackled his hands behind his back, Coulson too flustered to ask any further questions. Sif had turned back to face Coulson, Loki gesturing for her to approach, she taking hold of Coulson's arm in a firm grip, Coulson giving a short cry of pain. Sif recalling that he was mortal, loosened it somewhat.

Loki approached Selvig, holding out his hand, Selvig taking it.

"Give my thanks to Jane and Darcy." Loki said.

"Should I tell them the truth?" Selvig asked.

"I leave it up to you. Before I go…" Loki said. Removing the umbrella from his pack, it morphed back into its true form, Mjolnir. Selvig looked at the hammer in Loki's hand in astonishment.

"Thor's hammer...Mjolnir..." Selvig said breathlessly in disbelief. Loki held out the hammer, Selvig wrapping his hand around it. As Loki let go, the hammer dropped heavily to the ground, Selvig struggling to lift it, only managing to do so a couple of inches, much to his chagrin. Loki, grinning, lifted it, supporting it as Selvig held it between his two hands, staring down at it in awe.

"After hearing all the stories...to actually hold it..."

"We must return. Goodbye, Erik Selvig." Loki said, lowering the hammer to his side. "Þakka þér enn og aftur fyrir hjálpina. (Thank you again for your help.)"

"Verði þér að góðu. Mun ég sjá þig aftur? (You're very welcome. Will I see you again?)" Selvig asked.

"Kannski. Þú veist aldrei. Enda er ég guð óheilla. (Perhaps. You never know. I am the god of mischief.)" Loki said with a grin befitting the moniker. Turning from Selvig, Loki joined Verda, Sif and Coulson, Sif continuing to hold Coulson's arm. "Heimdall, bring us home!" Loki called out.

Selvig found himself nearly blinded and knocked back on his feet by the bright white light of the Bifrost as it descended as swiftly as a bolt of lightning. Blinking, his eyes readjusting, he looked to where the four had once stood, cautiously approaching the spot, looking down at the pattern burned into the ground and then upwards at the clear blue sky.


	12. Chapter 12

"Unless he is capable of illusion, that is not the man." Verda said quietly to Loki as they left Himinbjorg which held the mechanism that powered the Bifrost and stepped out onto the Rainbow Bridge, following Sif who continued to lead the stunned and confused Coulson by the arm.

"To my knowledge, no mortal has ever had such abilities. What the people of Midgard refer to as magic is merely distraction and sleight of hand." Loki responded.

Verda's revelation did not surprise Loki. Coulson had not uttered a word, seeming to be in awe of the experience of travelling via the Bifrost and finding himself on Asgard as one would expect to be the reaction of a mortal who had heretofore been ignorant of its existence. Coulson viewed the sights around him with a mix of fear and child-like wonder. Surely if he had been involved in Thor's murder, he would not behave in such a manner. Yet the presence of his card on the person of one of the assailants pointed to some link and Loki was determined to uncover it.

Loki came to a sudden stop as a vision flashed before his eyes, accompanied by a shooting pain in his head that Loki could only equate to his skull being run through with a spear. Putting his palm to his forehead, he bowed his head, squeezing his eyes shut.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Verda asked anxiously, gripping his shoulder. Loki raised his head, opening his eyes, before he stepped to the edge of the bridge.

"It was here I let go…plunged into the abyss." Loki said, looking down into the void of space below with a deeply troubled expression.

"That will no longer be." Verda assured him.

"Only because my brother is dead."

"You shouldn't think such thoughts. Your experience with the stones and your time on Midgard was draining. You should rest." Verda counseled.

"I must first speak to Coulson."

"He's not going anywhere. He will wait. Time alone in the dungeon may serve to loosen his tongue."

"You may be right." Loki agreed, continuing to stare down over the edge of the bridge. Verda moved to stand next to Loki, reaching out and taking his hand in her own.

"I will never let you fall." Verda said before gently leading him away to continue following Sif and Coulson.

*********************

Sif led Coulson down the dreary stairway into Asgard's dungeon and past cells occupied by detainees of various humanoid species, some appearing to Coulson to be human, though they were Asgardian or another terran-like race from elsewhere in the universe, others clearly alien. Coulson peered into the cells as they passed, the occupants staring back at him.

"What is this place? Why have I been brought here?" Coulson asked, finally finding his voice.

"I am to believe you are ignorant?" Sif asked in a hostile tone.

"Humor me." Coulson answered.

"You are on Asgard. Thor, son of Odin, our king, was murdered. Your card was found in the possession of a mortal of Midgard like yourself, one of those responsible."

"Thor…Odin?" Coulson repeated, bewildered. "This is why I don't drink on the job. He's good. No one's succeeded in slipping me a Mickey in a long time. I have no idea who you people are. I had nothing to do with anyone's murder."

Sif led Coulson into an empty cell, removing Coulson's shackles and stepped out, activating the force field. Coulson turned to face her.

"What now? Do I get a lawyer?" he asked.

"You will remain here until you are questioned and brought before Odin. If you are innocent as you say, you will be returned to your people. If you are guilty...I have been granted the honor of swinging the axe." Sif answered, a look of terror crossing Coulson's face. Sif turned and walked away, leaving Coulson alone in the cell.

*********************

Loki and Verda entered Loki's chambers. They had both dispelled the illusion of Midgardian clothing before entering the palace, Verda now dressed in leggings and a leather top, the clothing of a female warrior of Asgard. As Loki made his way to the chaise, Verda stopped, remaining in place, Loki turning to look at her with a questioning gaze.

"What?" Verda asked.

"Nothing...your clothing..."

"They're Sif's. Do you like them?" Verda asked.

"Not particularly." Loki answered. Though she had said she had fought in a battle on Earth and survived and of course had received the training in the basics of the art of war all Asgardian children and young adults, both male and female, were given, he could not picture her as a warrior. He wished to see her in lavish gowns that he felt could only accentuate her beauty.

"I know, they're not me. I should change and return them to her." Verda paused for a moment before continuing, "Did you mean what you said...you wish me to leave my chambers?"

"You'll be far safer here. If this man who brought you here would return looking to do you harm…"

"Oh...yes… I suppose you're right." Verda said, looking somewhat crestfallen. Loki, realizing his statement had been misinterpreted, approached her, taking both her hands in his.

"That's not the only reason. Your safety happens to be my greatest concern at the moment. I'm going to assign an einherjar, perhaps two to escort you when you leave my-our chambers."

"Will it not appear strange for a chambermaid to be given a guard?" Verda asked.

"A chambermaid, perhaps, however a queen in waiting is a different story. Unless, of course, you'd rather retain your current position...I always did enjoy watching you work. You must have thought me quite slovenly, all that I left lying about." Loki responded with a grin. Verda looked to Loki in astonishment.

"Do you not think it too soon? You said only days ago that you believed love required more."

"Was there another that honored me for five years that you haven't told me about?" Loki asked.

"No...not that I know of."

"What more could I require? You were right. I was afraid. I've been afraid my whole life..., afraid I would never be good enough, afraid I would never find my own place outside my brother's shadow, afraid to love as I was afraid of the loss of it. I wish to be done with fear...with all of it. It's what led me down the path I took in the visions that were revealed to me."

"It was the same for me. I was afraid I was not worthy to speak to you. Sometimes I thought I was unworthy to even think about you. My sister would tell me how unworthy I was. I believed her."

"I can think of no one more worthy. Will you have me?" Loki asked.

"You aren't concerned with what others may think? Your father?" Verda asked.

"I care nothing what others may think. I care nothing what my father may think. He's quite accustomed to that by now, I would imagine."

"That is most likely so. It is of your father we must speak." Loki heard his mother's voice say. Looking past Verda, Loki saw Frigga standing before the door. Loki recognized the expression of worry on her face.

*************************

"What is it? Is father unwell?" Loki asked, concerned, and not only for Odin's wellbeing, as he entered his mother's chambers following behind her. Loki was well aware of the toll that the death of his favored son and heir had taken on his adoptive father.

"Thor's death weighs heavily upon him. He must rest soon. If he does not, I fear the consequences. He has not yet had the opportunity to prepare you as he wished to do, it is sooner than he intended, and all are still in mourning for your brother, but I believe the coronation should take place soon. He has agreed. Once it is done, I am hopeful he will feel all is settled enough that he will be willing to take his rest."

"There is another matter of the utmost importance I must speak to him about before he does so." Loki informed Frigga.

"The girl, Verda...I have known for some time of your involvement with her but chose not to speak of it. You are a man now, I did not feel it was my place. When you had her reassigned I thought that you had put an end to it as you had with others. You intend to take her as your queen?"

"If she will have me. She has not given me her answer. That was not what I was referring to, but yes, I intend to speak to him regarding that matter as well and to seek his blessing." Loki told his mother.

"If he refuses to give it? Will you go ahead?"

"What reason would he have to refuse? Unless to love me is a crime, though perhaps it is, I've often thought it must be so, she herself has committed none."

"If to love you was a crime, I myself would be in the dungeon along with your father. She has done no wrong of which I am aware and I do not believe your father holds her sister's crimes against her, but that is not the only concern. If the people do not accept her as their queen, they may not accept you as king." Frigga explained.

"Would they accept me as king if they knew my true origin?"

"Your father may be concerned that the people might fear that she is manipulating you, through sorcery or otherwise, that it could lead to her sister gaining her freedom."

"Verda has been quite clear that she wishes never to see her sister set free, not only due to her crimes, including the death of their parents, but also for the manner in which Lorelei mistreated her as a child. She wishes that father had ordered Lorelei's execution. I myself question why he didn't do so. I ask only that she be given a fair chance...but perhaps I ask too much. I was denied the same. Father knew long ago he would never willingly place a frost giant on the throne of Asgard. Perhaps my choice of queen will give him the excuse he seeks not to."

"You are Asgardian. Your origin had nothing to do with who was to be your father's choice to succeed him. You ask for her to be given a fair chance, you claim you were not given one, yet you refuse to give your father the same. He only wants what is best for Asgard and for you as his son. You are still young. You have often been impetuous. Are you certain that you could never love another? Are you truly prepared to make such a commitment?" Frigga asked.

"I am. It's true, I often failed to look before I leapt. I have never been a man easily satisfied. I had pushed her away, fearing as you do what others would think. But now...things have changed...I've changed." Loki informed his mother. Frigga was silent for a moment as she examined him, considering the certainty with which he spoke.

"I believe you have. If that is due to her influence upon you, I can only be grateful for it. I am concerned only for your happiness. That is all I have ever wished for. I will speak with your father and intercede on your behalf." Frigga said, approaching Loki and taking both of his hands in her own.

*************************

Loki approached his chambers, a plethora of disparate thoughts crowding his mind. Upon first being handed Coulson's card by Heimdall in his father's study, he had naively believed, had hoped, that simply finding the man would provide him with the answers that were necessary to solve the mystery of Thor's murder. However, though the man now sat cooling his heels in the dungeon, things had become more complicated after Verda's confession and her observation that he was not the man that had brought her to Asgard and that point in time. Were the two events even related? They most likely were, the mystery time traveler's threats would seem to point in that direction. A man simply looking for a cure for his ailing son and then to return to his own time would have no reason whatsoever to threaten Verda who he would be leaving behind in the past.

Nothing made any more sense than it had from the moment he had watched Thor being run through with the blade. Complicating things even more were the visions and the mindset they had put Loki into. Guilt flooded over him as he realized that though he mourned for his brother, knowing what would have been had the attack on his brother never occurred, he now knew his life at the current moment and his future would be better for the tragedy having taken place. He wished he had heeded his brother's warning, whether it had truly been Thor or not, but then he knew he would have been as equally troubled not knowing, sensing that his life had been somehow altered but ignorant of how. As Loki had often felt over the course of his lifetime, he had been damned if he did and damned if he didn't.

Loki turned his thoughts back to Coulson. Coulson had obviously known by name and by sight one of Thor's mortal assailants. The damage that Thor had done to the man's face had forced Loki to have to compensate for it when he produced his illusion but he must have done at least a passable job for Coulson to have recognized him. Would he also know the man Verda had dealings with? If only he himself had seen him so he could share the memory with Coulson as he had shared Thor's murder with Selvig.

Loki entered his chambers to see that Verda, much to his satisfaction, had changed out of the clothing she had borrowed from Sif and into an Asgardian gown. She rose from the chaise and approached him, the gold of the necklace he had gifted her catching the light.

"Is everything alright?" Verda asked. Loki looked into her eyes, the eyes that were the only ones that had seen the mysterious man as his had been the only witness to Thor's murder and had stored it within his memory banks to later share those memories with Selvig.

"Yes, for the moment anyway. I have something to ask of you…"

***********************************

Loki had decided Coulson's interrogation could wait until the next morning. After assigning an einherjar to escort Verda to collect her things and assist her in moving them to his chambers, which had amounted to only one trunk of clothing, they had shared a meal, Loki requesting that it be brought to them. The events of the day and the rich food in his belly sent him to his rest earlier than usual. Verda, having now changed into a long nightgown of a silver hue after removing her necklace and placing it back in its box which she had stowed in her trunk, slipped into bed beside him. Both lay looking towards the ceiling. They had never come together there merely to sleep, the two having little energy for more at the moment.

"I never gave you an answer." Verda finally said, breaking the awkward silence. Loki turned his head on the pillow towards her. "I never wished to be queen. The idea itself is frightening, but if it must be...yes. I will have you. Unless your mother has changed your mind."

"No, of course not...in fact she is to intercede on our behalf to obtain my father's blessing." Loki said, turning onto his side to face her, reaching out and taking her hand that rested on her abdomen. Verda turned her head to face him with an expression of astonishment.

"She approves of me?"

"She had her concerns of course, as I expected. She's grateful to you for your influence on me." Loki said with a grin.

"If she only knew…I think it's somewhat the other way around." Verda said with a laugh. "You must have put on quite an act."

"It has been said I have a silver tongue…but it was no act."

"Did you tell her the truth about me?" Verda asked.

"No. Keeping such secrets appears to be tradition in my family. At the moment I see no reason not to carry on with it." Loki moved closer to Verda, she turning onto her side to face him. He looked into her eyes in silence for a moment, caressing her cheek. "I have never said these words to another...I love you."

"I love you, too." Verda said before she began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Loki asked, unable to help smiling though he had no idea what had prompted her fit of giggles.

"You should have seen Sif's face…when I handed her the shackles I stole from the armory. She thought-"

"I'm sure I know what she thought. You have them?"

"Yes. She returned them to me. She couldn't wait to be rid of them." Verda laughed, "I'll take them back tomorrow."

"I doubt they will be missed. I see no reason to return them." Loki told Verda with a grin.

*************************************

Coulson had awakened in his cell, raising himself up in the bunk, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, the events of the previous day coming back to him as he realized where he was. Obviously all he recalled from the day before had not been a drug induced hallucination or a dream. He had eaten the food that had been brought to him, which he had to admit for prison food was very good. The fact he hadn't eaten since shortly before his abduction the evening before and was famished had perhaps made it even more palatable.

The woman who had brought him there had called it a dungeon, yet it was not exactly what he pictured when he heard that term. The cell was clean and dry, the temperature was pleasant, the bunk he had slept in, though basic, was comfortable. There were no shackles on the wall or obvious devices of torture.

"Phil Coulson." Loki said from outside the cell. Coulson looked up from where he sat on the bunk and rose to his feet.

"Yes." Coulson said, acknowledging his identity.

"I am Loki, son of Odin. You have been brought here on suspicion of involvement in my brother's murder. Tell me what you know and it will go easier for you." Loki looked Coulson up and down. He now realized he had seen the man in his visions. Like Selvig and Jane, he had also played a role in his future that was not now to be, but could not at the moment call up the exact memory.

"That'll be a short conversation. I don't know anything. I didn't even know this place or you existed. I'm still having a hard time believing this is real."

"Your card was found on one of the mortals of Midgard who assailed my brother, the man whom I disguised myself to appear to be when we met at the tavern. What do you know of him?"

"Jeffrey Krieger. Ex-military, special forces. Got mixed up with the wrong people. He'd been recruited by Hydra operatives but pretty quickly became disillusioned. He and a friend of his that had been recruited at the same time made contact with S.H.I.E.L.D. through a third party. I met with him about a week ago and offered him a deal. That's when I gave him my card. I've given a lot of people my card. If I were arrested every time my card was found on someone, I'd spend most of my time behind bars. That's all I know."

"There was a scientist, an expert in gamma radiation. I've been told that after he had contact with your organization he disappeared. Do you know what became of him? Did your people murder him?"

"You're talking about Banner? Bruce Banner? No. He's alive and well. What does he have to do with this?"

"Nothing. I'm asking for a friend."

"He went into hiding. He's in Calcutta, India. S.H.I.E.L.D. has him under surveillance but we've kept our distance. As long as he stays out of trouble, we'll continue to do so. He has some issues with anger management."

"So you claim innocence, you know nothing of my brother...who was responsible for his murder, why he was killed?"

"Until yesterday I thought you were myth. It would have been like me putting a hit out on the Easter Bunny." Coulson answered. Before Coulson's eyes, Loki's form appeared to change. Before him stood another man, middle aged, hair cropped close on the sides, his hairline appearing to be slightly receding. He wore a dark blue sweater over a button down shirt and navy trousers. Coulson stared in wonder at Loki's transformation.

"Do you know this man?" Loki asked.

"Yes. I mean, I know of him. I don't know him personally. We've never met. He's somewhat well known, at least in certain circles. He's been interviewed for a few documentaries on television. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have consulted him a couple of times in the past regarding stolen artifacts. He's a professor, a teacher, primarily of Norse Mythology at the University of Seville in Spain. Randall….no….Randolph. Elliot Randolph."


	13. Chapter 13

"Erik….take a look at this!" Jane Foster called to Selvig as he entered the abandoned service station from the RV, his hair still slightly damp from the shower. Selvig crossed the room to the desk where Jane sat in front of a computer. On the monitor was a series of graphs. "I input all the data from all three events. Whatever they were they didn't originate in the atmosphere."

"Yes, I know." Selvig answered, not only his words but his tone making it apparent that Jane's conclusion was no surprise to him.

"What do you mean you know?" Jane asked, puzzled. As Jane finished speaking, multiple black cars along with two SUVs and a van swiftly pulled up outside the service station, surrounding the entrance. Men and women in dark clothing or suits, along with a brunette woman, her hair pulled back, sporting a military style jumpsuit, a patch on the arm, exited the vehicles, swarming like locusts.

"What's going on?" Darcy asked as she exited the RV, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Jane stood from where she was seated as the brunette woman approached, appearing to be giving directives to the others who began to spread out around the interior of the station.

"Erik Selvig?" the woman asked as she neared them.

"Yes..." Selvig said nervously as the woman displayed what looked like a government ID.

"Maria Hill. I'm an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. You're being detained for questioning in the abduction of agent Phil Coulson." Hill said, two agents walking past her, taking hold of Selvig's arms, one agent moving them behind Selvig's back, placing handcuffs on his wrists.

"That's insane! Erik hasn't abducted anyone! We're scientists! Wait! Where are you taking him? Hey! Those are ours! We need that! " Jane cried out, aghast, watching as Selvig was led away as other agents gathered up computers and scientific equipment.

****************************

"This Randolph...he's an expert in the stories told of us long ago? They're fiction." Loki asked, puzzled, after dropping the illusion, returning to his own form. He couldn't comprehend why any mortal would dedicate their life to learning and teaching about the ridiculous tales he had read in Puente Antiguo's library. It seemed to him a complete waste of one's time.

"That's why it's called mythology." Coulson replied.

"Why would one wish to study what they know to be untrue? What could be gained by it?" Loki asked.

"Some people read them for entertainment like any other story. Others to learn about and gain insight into the people who once told and believed them." Coulson answered Loki's query.

"I could tell them all they need to know. They were backwards and ignorant, simple minded and foolish...but then I suppose that describes most mortals. It doesn't appear much has changed except you now possess phones." Loki mused. Despite his newfound friendship with Selvig, he had not found himself much more impressed with Midgardians after his recent visit than he had been a millennia ago.

As Loki continued to look towards Coulson behind the cell's force field, he experienced another episode of sharp, almost crippling pain shooting through his brain like a lightning bolt as another vision flashed before his mind's eye...he holding a scepter in his hand as he stood behind the man he now knew to be Coulson, coldly thrusting it through Coulson's back...Coulson mortally wounded propped against a wall, blood staining his previously neat dress shirt and trickling from his mouth.

Coulson noticed Loki wince, closing his eyes, holding his head with one hand as he appeared to slightly sway on his feet. Though his abductor and jailer, Coulson's natural instinct to be concerned for others' wellbeing kicked in, evident in his expression.

"You alright?" Coulson asked.

"You said I lacked conviction…" Loki said, continuing to hold his head as the pain began to fade, Coulson appearing confused at Loki's words. "You were right." Loki raised his head, looking to Coulson once again before stepping up to the panel that controlled the force field surrounding the cell, deactivating it. "I find you to be innocent. You will help me discover who is guilty."

"Do I get a choice?" Coulson asked, warily stepping out of the cell.

"Of course. If you chose not to assist me...Verda may enjoy having a pet. I'll have a proper habitat constructed. I'm afraid a box won't do…"

"I'm not sure I'd consider that a choice."

"You have experience in investigation." Loki stated more than asked.

"It's one of many parts of my job, yes." Coulson answered.

"Then tell me, where do we start?"

*************************

Erik Selvig sat alone at a table in a small room, hardly bigger than a walk in closet, that S.H.I.E.L.D. had commandeered for their use at the local police headquarters. They had removed the handcuffs, much to Selvig's relief. He thought back to the evening before. Their getaway had appeared to have been flawless. The two sitting in the car in the parking lot that Selvig was sure were Coulson's backup in case his meeting went sideways had hardly given Loki, Sif, and Verda a second glance as they'd exited the bar, obviously believing them to be locals and unrelated to the reason they were there. The only surveillance camera he was aware of in the bar was over the bar itself and the cash register and he hadn't entered the building. It had likely been some time before they realized Coulson had disappeared. After driving Loki and the others outside of town and seeing them off, he had returned back to the old service station, informing Jane and Darcy that 'Lucas' had contacted an acquaintance, Selvig driving him to meet them and that he had been asked to pass on Lucas' farewell and his thanks.

Selvig thought back to those last few moments in the desert. Loki had called out to someone, only a second later the Bifrost descending. He attempted to recall familiar names from the stories he had been told as a child. Rifling through the files in his brain, it came to him. It was worth a shot, Selvig figuring at this point he had nothing to lose.

"Heimdall...if you can see me, if you can hear me...tell Loki I've been arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D." Selvig said. He was aware that even though no one had yet entered the room or began to interrogate him, they could be recording him as he appeared to be talking to himself or some imaginary friend and would likely suppose him to be mentally ill, but he didn't care.

"I can both see and hear you." A deep, resonant voice said from somewhere beside him. Selvig looked to his left to see a tall, muscular and imposing man, his skin ebony, his eyes golden, almost appearing to be glowing, wearing a golden helmet and armor. What he could not see was that his own eyes had taken on the same golden hue. "I will inform my prince of your plight."

"Thank you." Selvig answered, that being all he could manage to say through his shock. Heimdall's image was gone as quickly as it had appeared, Selvig's eyes returning to their natural color just as the door to the room opened, the woman who had given her name as Maria Hill entering along with an African American man with a goatee and a cleanly shaved head, an eye patch over his left eye, Selvig unable to help wondering what the story was behind the loss of it.

"Dr. Selvig. Can I get you anything? Coffee?" Nick Fury asked Selvig.

"No, thank you." Selvig answered. Fury and Hill seated themselves in the chairs that were placed across from Selvig on the other side of the table. 

"I'm Nick Fury. I'm the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I don't do too many of these anymore. I usually leave them to people like Agent Hill here. However, this is a special case. Not only is Phil Coulson a colleague, he's also a friend. So why don't you save yourself a boat load of trouble and tell me where he is?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. You must have me confused with someone else. I'm a scientist. I'm here studying atmospheric anomalies." Selvig said, doing his best to sound convincing as he feigned ignorance.

Hill produced what looked like a digital voice recorder and pushed a button.

"We must return. Goodbye, Erik Selvig." Loki's voice said as it emanated from the recorder, slightly muffled. Hill stopped the playback, staring back at Selvig.

"Who's that you're speaking to? Who are you working for? Hydra? This new club their people have been jumping ship to join up with?" Fury asked.

"I'm not working for anyone. I don't know anything about any of that."

"I'm going to ask you one more time. Where's my friend?" Fury said, sounding more than a bit perturbed and impatient.

"Where's mine? Bruce Banner hasn't been heard from since he had dealings with you people."

"Is that what this is about? Banner's not in our custody. He left the country of his own accord. He's eating a lot of Indian food these days. Actually, that sounds pretty good. I don't suppose there's a good place to get Tandoori around here? We're just keeping an eye on him. Believe it or not, that's more for his safety than ours. I've given you what you asked for, now it's your turn."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Selvig said.

"Trust me, I've heard some weird ass shit in my day. Some of it actually turned out to be true. Try me."

************************

"Hello again, sister." Lorelei looked up from the book she was reading as she heard Verda's voice greeting her from within her cell.

"What are you doing here? Your dearest love was just here. He was speaking to the mortal. I still fail to understand what it is you see in him." Lorelei said, closing the book in her hands and sitting it aside, rising from where she sat on the edge of her bed. Verda's image had appeared in the same area of her cell as during her previous visit.

"I wouldn't expect you to. You've no idea what love means. You believe men to be mere objects to be used and discarded."

"Not all of them. I'm sure I would have found reason to keep his brother around." Lorelei responded. "What is it you want?"

"I've come to inform you that the next queen of Asgard will not be a bilge snipe." Verda said with a satisfied smile. "Considering you had told me that you would go to your death more quickly, I couldn't wait to tell you." Lorelei looked at Verda, her mouth agape.

"He has asked for you? I don't suppose I should expect an invitation." Lorelei responded sarcastically.

"So what do you think of your 'worthless' sister now?"

"You will be as worthless a queen as you are a sister and he will be equally as worthless a king. It was his brother who Odin meant to rule. If not for Thor's death, Loki would be as much a nothing as you." Lorelei sneered.

"This will be my last visit. It would not be proper for the Queen of Asgard to speak with such a low creature."

"I will shed no tears."

"Nor will I. Goodbye sister, the next time I see you it will be your corpse. I'll have your remains burned along with the other refuse." Verda said before her image dissipated.

*****************************

Loki and Coulson stood in front of the two stone slabs that held the bodies of Krieger and his partner in crime, both corpses surrounded by a blue energy field that Loki soon disengaged.

"They've been searched? The only thing found on either of them was my card?" Coulson asked for confirmation.

"Yes." Loki answered. Coulson walked to the side of the slab where Krieger's body lay. He looked down at the man he had known only briefly. Krieger's nose was obviously badly broken, almost smashed flat and depressed into his skull as was the midsection of his forehead. There were obvious additional injuries to the brows and cheekbones.

"Your brother did quite a number on them. You did a damn good job of simulating him considering the disfigurement." Coulson complimented Loki. He now understood why the nose of Loki's rendition of Krieger had looked off.

"Thank you."

"These are the masks they were wearing?" Coulson asked, picking up and examining the mask that had been lying on Krieger's corpse's chest. It was a full face mask made of a solid resin like material, somewhat similar to the masks once worn decades ago by hockey goaltenders though shaped and fitted more closely to a typical human face. Coulson turned it over to look at the inside, his expression darkening at the sight of the copious dried blood. "No manufacturer's mark...likely custom made. Unfortunately that means there's no way to trace them. Whoever's behind it, they know how to cover their tracks. My card was either a mistake on Krieger's part or a plant to misdirect you. If that's the case, it obviously worked. Probably intended to drop it at the scene. Wasn't counting on getting dropped along with it."

"If it was meant as a misdirection, whoever is responsible for my brother's death must know you and wishes harm to come to you as well."

"Elementary, my dear Watson…" Coulson replied. Loki looked to Coulson in puzzlement, obviously not understanding the reference. "Sherlock Holmes...though he never actually said that in any of the books. I read them all as a kid, they taught me to think like a detective, which strangely enough turned out to be pretty useful when working on cars with my dad, too."

"I'm afraid my knowledge of Midgardian literature is lacking."

"You should give them a read. I think you'd enjoy them." Coulson suggested, placing the mask back where he had found it on Krieger's body.

"I'm afraid my time will shortly be more limited." Loki informed Coulson. "I am soon to take the sacred vows of kingship and ascend the throne."

"Your father has passed recently as well?" Coulson asked.

"No. My father lives, though he is aged. He wishes to step back and enjoy what time remains to him less encumbered before he takes his place in the halls of Valhalla. I was not his choice to take the throne. It was to go to my brother."

"Do you think that's why he was assassinated?" Coulson asked.

"It's possible. The king of Jotunheim was similarly murdered the day after my brother."

"Jotunheim?"

"It's the realm of the frost giants, one of the nine realms of which Midgard, your earth, is a part. They are all connected as the branches of a tree. We call this 'tree' Yggdrasil. The realms look to Asgard for guidance and protection, all but Midgard who petitioned my father to be allowed to go their own way. It was a foolish choice but my father granted their request and I will be bound as king to uphold that agreement. Asgard still affords your realm protection from outside incursions though it has been without your knowledge, but that has been the extent of our involvement for some time now."

"So the king of another realm was murdered along with your brother? Jotunheim is an ally?"

"I would not go so far. They warred with us at the time of my birth. During that time Laufey, their king, the same who is now dead, attempted to conquer all nine realms, including Midgard. My father defeated him. We have existed under an uneasy peace with Jotunheim since that time. In keeping with that treaty, as their own source of power and defense as well as offense was taken from them, we protect and would defend Jotunheim from aggression by others. My father has a saying, 'a wise king does not seek out war but must always be ready for it.'"

"Your father sounds like a wise man. I guess the stories got that part right." Coulson said. 

"Not as wise as many believe." Loki responded, recalling what he soon planned to speak with his father about. 

"In some ways, things aren't all that different on Earth. We fought a war to keep a madman from trying to take over the whole kit and caboodle seventy years ago. Has anyone in any other realms been targeted?"

"Not thus far."

"It's not hard to figure out why someone would want to take out the king, or soon to be king, of Asgard that's at the top of the pyramid. But why the king of this Jotunheim and no others? There has to be a connection. I'm guessing a child of Laufey is next in line for the throne…"

"Laufey's brother has taken the throne, at least for the moment. Laufey had seven wives yet he had no-" Loki began before stopping himself, appearing contemplative.

"You think of something?" Coulson asked.

"My prince…" both men heard Heimdall say from behind them, turning towards the sound of his voice. Heimdall seemed to be examining Coulson. "I see you have released the prisoner."

"He is innocent of Thor's murder. He's now assisting me in the investigation. He has experience in such matters." Loki informed Heimdall.

"I've never investigated the murder of royalty...or an extraterrestrial...or extraterrestrial royalty. I suppose there's a first time for everything." Coulson confessed.

"I've come to inform you that your mortal friend, Erik Selvig, has been taken captive." Heimdall said, Loki's face expressing surprise and dismay.

************************

Verda stood on the balcony off the great room of Loki's chambers, staring out over Asgard and its beauty. Hearing the door open behind her, she turned, expecting to see Loki enter. Instead Frigga did so, looking across the room towards her.

"My Queen." Verda said in surprise at the unexpected visit.

"You are to be my daughter...Frigga...'mother' if you prefer after we have gotten to know each other." Frigga said with a warm, welcoming smile as she crossed the room. "I thought we could begin to do so now."

"Yes, of course…" Verda said.

"Not only will you be my daughter, you will take my place as Queen. Are you ready for such a responsibility?"

"I suppose I have little choice but to make myself so. I admit to you as I have to Loki that it terrifies me."

"As it should. Many believe they would wish to be, but few truly know what it means to be Queen. Though your power mostly rests only in your influence upon your King, serving as the mother of the people can at times feel like quite a burden. I will prepare you as best I can, but in the end, you must forge your own path. Every Queen is her own person. I'm a quite different person than Bestla, Odin's mother, Bor's Queen. I do not mean to say she was a better or worse woman or Queen than myself, just different, as you will be from me. I go now to speak to my King. I will return and together we will find something suitable for you to wear to the coronation as you will stand with your betrothed, and we will speak. It is also at that time that you will share the secret you and my son are keeping from me." Frigga said, Verda appearing stunned as Frigga turned, walking back to the door and exiting Loki's chambers.

Verda continued to stand frozen and speechless as the door opened again, Loki entering, Coulson following behind him.

"Verda!" Loki called out in alarm, appearing to be looking past Verda, just as she sensed a presence behind her. Quickly turning, Verda's eyes fell on what appeared to be a female in a white hooded bodysuit, a mask over her face, her right hand raised as it gripped a dagger. The female figure stabbed downwards towards Verda's chest before Verda had time to recover from her shock. She felt the point of the dagger break her skin, sinking into her flesh but only a couple of centimeters as the figure had stabbed her through the pendant of her necklace in the open space between the tree and gold circular border around it, precluding the dagger from going further. A few of the tiny gold leaves were dislodged from it, falling to the stone floor.

With a cry of fright and pain, Verda fell back and away from her assailant, losing her footing and ending up lying supine on the floor, quickly placing her hand to her chest and then raising it to see blood running down her fingers.

Loki thrust his arm out, Mjolnir flying towards him from where it rested beside the chaise. The figure, turning her attention from Verda to Loki was unprepared as Loki hurled the hammer in her direction, Mjolnir catching her full in the chest, sending her flying over the balcony to the hard, stone paved courtyard below. Loki deftly caught Mjolnir as it returned to him before rushing to Verda's side, Coulson remaining standing near the door, unsure what he had just witnessed.

Verda sat up, Loki supporting her back, placing her hand again on the wound as it continued to bleed. Loki examined the wound, moving Verda's hand and the pendant of her necklace aside."

"We must get you to the healer." Loki told her. He did not voice what he feared and that Verda also pondered.

"It's nothing. I'll be alright. We must get to the courtyard. She may have survived the fall."

Coulson had by now crossed the room to the balcony, looking over it at the body far below lying on her back in a pool of blood, Asgardians that had been in the courtyard and witnessed her fall gathering around her, einherjar moving them aside, taking control of and clearing the scene.

"I kind of doubt that." Coulson said grimly.

**********************

Loki, Coulson and Verda stood beside the deceased assassin, the einherjar moving aside for them. Blood still trickled from Verda's wound, staining the front of her gown. Loki stood with an arm protectively around her.

Coulson knelt beside the body and reached out, removing the mask to reveal the face beneath it. All three now stared in wonder and confusion as they looked down upon a carbon copy of Verda's face. Verda gasped, raising her unbloodied hand to her mouth staring down at herself for another moment before her eyes rolled upwards into her head, only the whites now visible before they closed, her body going limp, Loki catching her before she fell to the ground to join her doppleganger. 

"Verda!" Loki exclaimed, taking her in his arms and lifting her as he addressed Coulson. "I'm taking her to the healing room. I leave this to you." Loki turned to one of the einherjar though he addressed the others. "This man is Coulson. He is of Midgard. I've given him authority to investigate the murder of my brother...do all that he says. When he is finished here, escort him to my chambers to await my return." The einherjar nodded, Loki anxiously and swiftly moving off back towards the courtyard entrance to the palace cradling the unconscious Verda in his arms.


	14. Chapter 14

Ragna stood beside the soul forge, Verda lying upon it as Thor had the last time Loki had found himself in the healing room only days before. He had stepped back a few paces to give Ragna room to do her work, though his instinct was to remain at Verda's side. Ragna examined the golden representation of Verda's body projected above her with concern.

"The wound is superficial, it is not a mortal wound in itself...but as was the case with Thor it is not healing. If it follows the same course, and I must assume it will do so, it will begin to necrotize. The infection will spread throughout her body as it did your brother's with the same outcome."

"Is there anything that can be done?" Loki asked anxiously.

"I could attempt to debride the wound...to remove the tissue around it...she would suffer scarring, though that is a minor concern when considering the alternative and I can minimize it a great deal. However, we're dealing with magic of a very nefarious sort. To do so would be fruitless and would hasten her end if her entire body has been affected. There is no way to know."

"Yes there is." Loki said approaching the soul forge on the opposite side of Ragna. Before Ragna realized what Loki was about to do, he produced one of his own daggers and sliding the sleeve of Verda's gown upwards to expose her forearm, used it to inflict a small wound, little more than a scratch, the type of slight wound that for any healthy Asgardian would heal quickly within a minute or two. Ragna, now realizing what Loki was doing, watched along with him for any signs of healing.

Loki's heart sank, his world shattering as the wound remained unchanged. His vision blurred with tears as he placed his hand over his mouth, emitting a short vocalization of anguish before he turned away. After he had stood in silence for a few more moments, Ragna remaining equally silent, knowing that there was nothing more to be said, Loki appeared to compose himself, lowering his hand, though he remained with his back to the healer.

"How long?" Loki asked.

"The wound involves far less tissue and no major organs unlike your brother's. If it progresses at the same rate...a day, perhaps two."

"Loki...I was only now told..." Frigga said as she entered, Loki turning towards her as she rushed to her adopted son.

"The wound is minor, however, the weapon was cursed." Loki told his mother, fighting to keep his voice from breaking.

"I had only just left her." Frigga said.

Loki stepped away from his mother to the soul forge, lifting Verda from it.

"If she is to die, she will do so in our own chambers." Loki said carrying Verda towards the door from which Frigga had only recently entered, Frigga following.

"Wait…" Ragna said, Loki and Frigga halting and turning towards the healer as she approached holding Verda's necklace, Frigga taking it from her.

*********************************

Coulson approached the door as it opened, an object wrapped in a cloth in his hands, before freezing in place as he saw Loki enter bearing a dark, grim expression, Verda in his arms appearing to have not yet regained consciousness. Frigga followed behind Loki, looking to Coulson questioningly.

Without a word to Coulson, Loki headed in the direction of the doorway that led to his and, only within the last day, Verda's shared bedchambers. Frigga continued to follow Loki, assuming from his lack of response to viewing Coulson standing there that his presence in Loki's chambers was known and expected.

"I am Loki's mother, Frigga.,.join us." Frigga said to Coulson, her face devoid of the usual smile she would have given upon meeting someone under rosier circumstances and also forgiving her son under the current circumstances for his apparent rudeness in not acknowledging Coulson or introducing them.

"Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D." Coulson replied, introducing himself as he followed Frigga.

"You are Coulson? Seeing as you are not in the dungeon I must assume my son has found you innocent."

"Yes, m'am...Mrs. Odin...your majesty?" Coulson floundered.

"Frigga will suffice."

"I'm investigating the murder of your son." Coulson explained.

"You do this willingly?" Frigga said in surprise.

"Define 'willingly.' I was given the choice between that or spending the rest of my life living in a box eating insects."

"That does not sound like a choice." Frigga responded.

"That's what I said."

"Forgive my son. He has been overwrought and is sometimes overzealous in his passions. If you wish to return to Midgard-"

"I'm involved now. I can be somewhat overzealous myself."

Loki, with Frigga's motherly assistance, settled Verda into the bed. Loki stood beside the bed looking dazed and lost as he gazed upon her. Frigga, standing beside him, put a hand on his arm, holding out her other hand before him, the pendant of the necklace lying in her palm, the chain dangling from her hand. Loki took it from her, seating himself on the edge of the bed facing Verda, placing it once again around her neck. His eyes fell on the slight damage that had been done to it by the dagger.

"The body's been taken to the morgue with the others." Coulson informed Loki, uncertain if it was the proper time but feeling awkward standing at the foot of the bed in silence. "Did she have a twin?" he asked, though he was relatively sure she didn't, at least not one she was aware of considering both her and Loki's reaction to her assailant's unmasking.

"No." Loki answered.

"I have the weapon here. No markings. Again, likely custom made...or I guess forged in this case. No way to trace it to anyone other than the woman who last used it. There was nothing else on the body." Coulson walked around the bed, handing the cloth wrapped dagger to Loki. "How is she?" Coulson asked, turning his gaze to Verda, surprised that she had not yet regained consciousness. The wound had appeared minor and he had assumed her fainting to be a result of shock at seeing her double lying dead before her after being unmasked.

"She's dying." Loki answered simply.

"I didn't think it was serious." Coulson replied, stunned.

"The weapon was enchanted in the same manner as the sword which felled my brother." Loki said. "If one were to suffer so much as a scratch from this blade…" Loki said, uncovering the dagger.

"I'm sorry." Coulson said, unable to think of anything else to say. Frigga looked from Loki to Coulson.

"I will have you escorted to the guest chambers." Frigga said, looking back to Loki with concern as he continued to sit in silence on the edge of the bed, staring down at the dagger in his hands. "I will return." she said to Loki before escorting Coulson from the room.

Loki considered a question he had often found himself pondering many times over the previous centuries. Was he cursed? Another thought entered his mind as his eyes rested on the dagger, what Verda had said to him, that she would give her life to save his own or, barring that, she would die with him. She had wished to remain on the Statesman and share his fate after Thanos' attack and would have had those accompanying her not misled her. The last thing he had said to Coulson before his departure echoed in his mind...a mere scratch from the blade that now rested in his hand…that was all it would take...all that would be necessary.

His father had never wanted him to take the throne and he was certain that if the people of Asgard knew his true origin, they would not wish it either. Even once he was king he would know in his heart that he did not truly have, or would not have if the truth were known, the love, respect and admiration he had so long craved. He would not be taking the throne because his father had found him worthy of it or even because he had devised and succeeded in pulling off a clever scheme, but simply because he was the only option. Of course, that wasn't completely true. Odin could bestow the throne on anyone he saw fit, that he considered worthy...a cook in the kitchen, as Verda had said.

Frigga, returning to the room, sat down beside Loki on the edge of the bed.

"I will lead an army to Midgard...if they do not surrender this Randolph and all those in league with him, they will burn." Loki said, his countenance dark.

"Your father would never allow that. Do not let him hear you say such things. Midgard is not our enemy."

"They slaughter each other in droves and now they slaughter us...my brother, she who was to have been my wife and the mother of my heirs." Loki responded.

"It is the work of a few. There are billions of souls on Midgard, most of whom do not even know we exist. It is your grief and anger that speak now." Frigga cautiously and carefully reached over, moving the cloth back over the dagger and taking it from Loki. "It would be better if this were to be in my possession." she said, as if she had read Loki's previous thoughts.

"Summon father. He has not yet given us his blessing but if she awakens, if she is able, I wish us to take our vows to each other. Though she will not live to be Queen, she will die as my wife." Loki said to his mother.

Frigga reached over, squeezing Loki's hand before she rose with the dagger, making her way to the exit of the bedchamber. Loki stood from the edge of the bed and moved a chair beside it facing Verda and sat down, reaching out and taking her hand.

Loki sat with his head bowed, gazing towards his feet. Only days after watching his brother die before his eyes, he would now witness the death of the woman he loved...the only woman he had ever loved and to whom he had been able to say those words. He raised his head as he felt Verda's hand grip his own. Transferring himself from the chair back to the edge of the bed, her hand still held in his, he caressed her cheek with his other.

"Loki…" Verda said,

"My love...I should never have left you alone...I'm sorry. Forgive me."

"The blade...it was cursed…"

"You will feel no pain. I would never allow you to suffer." Loki said, struggling to maintain his composure.

"She was me...the me from this time, it was her...she is me now..."

"I don't understand." Loki said, confused. Were the effects of the wound affecting her brain and so soon? He recalled that Thor had been coherent to the end.

"Her essence, her soul...it joined with my own....he lied to her...he had taken her to Midgard...he told her I was an imposter...she thought she was protecting you...my sister….you must bring her to me...he told me...her...it was she who put the curse upon it...she can reverse it..."

"You have told me she bears you no love. If she refuses?"

"She won't...not after you offer her what she most desires…"

*********************************

"Do you believe him?" Hill asked Fury after they had left the interrogation room, Fury motioning for another agent to enter it and cuff Selvig once again to transfer him to one of the jail's cells.

"I don't know what to believe. It sounds crazy...but one thing I've learned in this job is that just because something sounds crazy doesn't mean it's not true." Fury answered.

"Yeah...but Thor...Loki….really?" Hill said incredulously.

"Any history of mental illness? Has he been prescribed any psychiatric drugs or anything that might affect his mental faculties?" Fury asked.

"Nothing I could find. I checked all his records everywhere he's spent any time for the past decade. I could go back further. The bartender said he'd been there the night before and left pretty wasted but that should have been out of his system by the time Coulson arrived. The man he was with told the bartender his name was Lucas King. She identified his voice from the recording from Coulson's earpiece as the same man. She said he drank as much as Selvig, maybe more, but when they left you wouldn't know he'd been drinking. There's no records of anyone by that name living here or visiting the area recently so it's likely an alias but I'm not ready to say he's a god."

"He was talking about holding Thor's hammer. Either he's telling the truth or this other guy is one of the best con men to ever live to fool a sane, respected scientist with a Ph.D in astrophysics into believing in the existence of old world gods. Before we went in he was talking to someone, he asked that this Loki be told he was here. I say we wait and see if he shows up."

*********************************

Lorelei sat at her desk in her cell in the dungeon, a writing implement in her hand, scrawling on a piece of paper she had pulled from the top of the stack resting on the corner of the desk.

"Lorelei."

Raising her head and placing the implement upon the paper, she rose, turning to view Loki standing outside of her cell.

"What is it you want? Did you also come to gloat? To mock?" Lorelei asked, obviously perturbed. Her words struck Loki as familiar, though he did not experience the same pain in his head as he had previously. "I have been told. My simpleton sister is to be queen. Clearly intelligence is not a trait you find attractive in a woman." Lorelei appeared to be examining Loki for a moment, "I can't say what it is my sister finds attractive in a man. Obviously it differs from my own preferences...and those of most other women. Why are you here?"

"I believe you know why I'm here."

"No. I do not. Enlighten me."

"Verda has been attacked. The dagger was cursed by your own hand." Loki said. Lorelei laughed darkly.

"And how would I have accomplished that? As you well know, as it was your father who created and forced it upon me, the collar renders me powerless."

"Obviously you've found a means of circumventing that impediment."

"If I had managed to do so, do you think I would still be here?"

"I've come to make you an offer. Remove the curse, save her life, and I will release you from this cell and free you from the collar as well as arrange passage off Asgard if you agree never to return." said Loki.

"Do you take me for such a fool? I am not so gullible as my sister. It is well known that you are not to be trusted. Loki, the trickster. Why are you really here? Did your father deny you his blessing on account of me? I step one foot out of this cell and it will be all the excuse you would need to put me to the axe. The people would no longer have reason to fear her wooing you into releasing me." Lorelei sneered, moving to the front of the cell.

"We have already received my father's blessing and were wed by him before I came to speak with you." Loki said, holding up his left hand, a ring on his finger. "I had predicted you would voice suspicion of such a conspiracy. If you were to still refuse my offer, I wished her to die as my wife." Lorelei peered out at Loki, at the anguish in his eyes, her demeanor changing from mocking to one of astonishment.

"You're serious…."

*********************************

Lorelei, shackled, the collar about her neck, entered Loki's bedchamber. Reaching the side of the bed, she looked down on the pale visage of Verda and the wound visible on the upper middle portion of her chest. The edges of it were already beginning to blacken, emitting a slight scent of rotting flesh.

"Sister…" Verda said. Lorelei turned to face Loki who stood behind her. He removed the shackles followed by the collar. Lorelei turned back to face Verda, reaching out and placing her palm over Verda's forehead as if checking her for a fever. She held it there for a moment, closing her eyes in concentration before lifting it. Loki watched as over the next few moments, the wound visibly began to heal, the blackness and scent of rot fading. Lorelei turned to Loki, looking into his eyes, a seductive smile on her lips.

"I believe I now know what it is my sister sees in you. You will leave her and serve me. Together we will rule Asgard and conquer the realms and beyond." Loki stared back into Lorelei's eyes, entranced as she moved her lips towards his.

Reaching up with both hands, Loki placed one on each side of Lorelei's head as if he were preparing to kiss her before twisting it sharply, her neck audibly snapping. Lorelei's eyes stared blankly, her mouth limply hanging open as her body sank heavily into a heap on the floor. Putting the palms of both his hands to his ears, Loki covered them before lowering his arms, removing the spell he had placed on himself that had rendered him deaf.

Odin and Frigga appeared behind Loki almost as if they had walked through the wall, though they had been standing along it, invisible, since before Loki had entered with Lorelei. Loki removed the ring from his finger returning it to his father.

"Guard!" Odin called out. An einherjar that had been standing outside the bedchamber door entered, looking to Odin as he awaited instructions from his king. "Remove the body of the criminal and burn it." Odin said. The einherjar made his way towards Lorelei's body.

"Wait." Verda said, rising from the bed, kneeling beside her sister's corpse. Reaching out, she closed Lorelei's staring eyes.

"I fulfilled our bargain. I freed her from her cell and the collar and gave her passage off of Asgard. I simply neglected to tell her of her destination." Loki said.

"I wish things had been different. If only she had loved me as your brother did you." Verda said in a melancholy voice. Verda's words struck Loki, a wave of sadness and guilt surging within him. He recalled his visions once again, Thor pleading with him not to let go as he dangled from the Bifrost, Thor's anguish as he believed he was witnessing Loki's death on Svartalfheim after battling the dark elf monstrosity, how Verda had told him that Thor had mourned for him, telling her stories of their childhood and how Thor's mourning for him was in part what had led Thor to descend into a drunken depression so deep he was rarely seen by anyone, only leaving his abode to secure more drink. How often he had fantasized doing to Thor what he had just done to Lorelei or something similar, though he had known he would never do so...and not only because he knew he would end up losing his head or spending the remainder of his life in the dungeon. "I said the next time I saw you it would be your corpse. Goodbye, sister." Verda said to the lifeless remains of Lorelei before addressing the waiting einherjar. "Take her."

*********************************

Fury and Hill sat in the interrogation room facing each other as they had seated themselves on either side of the table, a cup of coffee sitting in front of each of them as they waited. What they were waiting for, neither were exactly sure.

"Why does jail coffee always suck?" Fury asked. He removed a flask from inside his leather duster that he still insisted on wearing, even in the oppressive heat of New Mexico, and poured a healthy dose of whatever it contained into the coffee, holding the flask out to Hill.

"No...thank you." Hill said. Fury screwed the cap back onto the flask, replacing it in the inside pocket and lifted the coffee cup, taking a drink from it.

"Better...not a hell of a lot." he said, taking another drink. As he sat the coffee cup down, the door behind him opened, Coulson entering. Fury and Hill stood up quickly from their chairs, shocked at the sight of their missing colleague and friend. Loki and Verda entered behind Coulson.

"Coulson! What the-Where on god's green earth have you been?" Fury exclaimed.

"Ironic you should use that phrase. There was a bit of a misunderstanding. I'll explain later. Loki, Verda…. this is Maria Hill and Nick Fury. Release Selvig and return his and his team's equipment and after that I need a current location for Elliot Randolph, the professor at the University of Seville. Get a team together to bring him in."

"On it." Hill said, leaving the room.

Coulson looked at Fury who stood staring at him speechless, a state in which Coulson had rarely seen the man. Engendering such a response in his boss gave Coulson a strange sense of accomplishment.

"It's a long story...and it's not over yet. You'd better sit down." Coulson advised Fury. "You still have that flask?"

"Yeah...just put a little...more than a little...in this shitty excuse for coffee." Fury answered.

"Good, because you might need it."


	15. Chapter 15

"He's not an American, but he still has rights! All I want is to see him so that I know he's ok!" Jane Foster, clearly anxious as to Selvig's wellbeing, stood in the lobby area of the police station, arguing with the officer manning the reception desk who appeared as if he would rather have been anywhere else doing anything else up to and including busting a crack house or a den of mobsters than dealing with the irate woman.

"Like I've told you ten times already, he's not in our custody. They outrank us. There's nothing I can do."

"So they just get to waltz in here and do whatever they want?" Jane asked, frustrated.

"Yeah, pretty much." the officer replied. A door on the other side of the lobby opened behind Jane. Darcy, seated in a chair, turned her head in that direction just as Jane did the same, both witnessing Selvig exit. Jane rushed across the lobby in his direction.

"Erik!"

"Everything's fine. I'm alright."

"I told them you hadn't abducted anyone!"

"Actually...I did."

"What?!"

"It's a long story...I suppose not as long as some of my lectures. They're returning our equipment. I'll tell you everything when we get back."

As Selvig spoke, Loki, Verda, and Coulson entered the lobby through the same door. Jane looked to Loki with an expression of shock.

"Jane Foster, it's good-" Loki began, Verda upon hearing Jane's name turning her attention to the woman and taking stock of her. 

Before either Selvig or Loki realized what was about to happen, Jane stepped over to Loki, cutting him off as she slapped him hard across the face.

"That's for lying! You are one of them!" Jane exclaimed angrily, Selvig quickly taking hold of her arm, moving her back.

"How dare you!" Verda proclaimed indignantly, stepping towards Jane as Loki put an arm out in front of her.

"Girls! Girls!" Selvig exclaimed, attempting to calm Jane and Verda and prevent a brawl from breaking out between the two. Both Verda and Jane looked at Selvig with irritation. "I mean ladies."

"It's not as if you've never done the same." Loki said, looking over to Verda with a grin.

"That was different. You were dying." Verda replied as Loki turned his attention back to Jane.

"He's not one of them." Selvig told Jane.

"They are not culpable for my brother's murder. They're now assisting me in apprehending the guilty party." Loki explained.

"Oh...well...alright then." Jane responded as the exterior door to the lobby opened, an older man, bearded, with gray hair and glasses entered.

"Erik!" Hank Pym called out upon seeing his friend, having expected to find him behind bars, and that would be if he was lucky and Selvig had not vanished off the face of the earth.

"Hank! What are you doing here?" Erik said, stepping away from the group towards Pym the two gripping hands.

"Jane called me, told me that S.H.I.E.L.D. had taken off with you. I got here as soon as I could."

"It's all been sorted out. In a way, it's a good thing you're here. Now I'll only have to explain all of it once. Oh...and Banner's alive. I know where he is."

"We should be going." Coulson said to Loki. Loki and Verda followed Coulson towards the door, Loki stopping as he reached Selvig and Pym.

"Thank you again, Erik Selvig." he said, extending his hand, Selvig taking it.

"If you need me, you know where to find me...if not I'm sure Heimdall can." Selvig replied. Loki and Verda followed Coulson out the door.

"Is that the guy? Lucas?" Pym asked.

"His name's not Lucas. It's Loki." Selvig answered.

"Like the god?"

"Not like...he is." Selvig answered, Pym and Jane both appearing befuddled at Selvig's answer.

****************************

"That was Jane Foster?" Verda asked Loki.

"You know of her?"

"Your brother spoke of her on many occasions....your brother in my time. I don't see what it is he found to be so special about her. She's a mortal like any other." Verda said, Loki picking up on a slight tone of annoyance in her voice. Verda had once again changed into clothing she had borrowed from Sif, a short leather skirt over another pair of leggings and a corseted top. Neither she nor Loki had bothered to cast any illusions over their clothing this time. Loki's eyes played over the curves of Verda's body that Sif's clothing accentuated, Verda noticing Loki's eyes on her as they reached the black car in the parking lot parked along with other identical or nearly identical vehicles. "What?" Verda asked before following Loki's gaze to her clothing. "Oh...I know...you don't like it."

"I could get used to it." Loki said as he opened the back door on the passenger side for Verda, Coulson opening the driver's side door and taking his place in the driver's seat.

All three now seated in the car, Coulson turned the key in the ignition. As the engine started, the stereo came loudly to life as well.

"Stinson must have had this one last." Coulson said, sounding perturbed as he moved to turn off the dark, loud, bass, percussion and synth heavy music that blared from the speakers. "Don't know how many times I've told him-"

"Wait…" Loki said, listening for a few moments. "What is it?"

"I call it noise. Stinson would tell you it's music." Coulson said as Loki listened to the haunting, strange cacophony of sound unlike any of the other music he had previously heard thus far on Midgard, the vocalist singing of losing himself, of trying to save himself but sensing himself slipping away, Loki seeing himself in the lyrics as he thought again of his visions.

"I like it."

****************************

Coulson had humored Loki's obsession with Stinson's music for the next half hour, looking forward to a peaceful, quick, and quiet flight on the waiting Quinjet to the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D. facility which happened to be in the Mojave desert.

Word had arrived that Randolph's location had been rather swiftly and easily ascertained and confirmed, a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents having been dispatched to collect him though it would be a few hours yet until his arrival even with the far faster mode of transportation S.H.I.E.L.D. had access to.

Coulson led Verda and Loki through the facility, arriving at a large, high ceilinged room. The space appeared empty and at the moment, not in use for any specific purpose. A doorway to a corridor could be seen on the far side, Coulson making his way in that direction.

"I'll show you to the living quarters. There's a common room, television, game room, library, all the comforts of home….well, our home. I'm sure you can find something to keep yourselves occupied. We'll let him cool his heels for awhile once he gets here." Coulson said, not mentioning the fact that he was well aware the same tactic had been used on him after his arrival on Asgard. Loki looked around the large open area, hearing Coulson's voice echoing off the walls.

A now familiar bolt of pain coursed through Loki's brain once again, stopping him in his tracks. Coulson, his back to Loki and Verda as he traversed the room didn't immediately notice as he continued towards the doorway. Verda had come to a halt beside Loki, grasping his arm.

"I am burdened with glorious purpose…" Loki said under his breath, barely audibly, his eyes closed, visions once again assailing him.

"What is it? You've been here before? Not you, I mean-" Verda asked.

"Yes….." Loki said quietly, opening his eyes, all the equipment that had filled the room in his mind's eye not extant in his current reality. "Where are you keeping it? The relic?" Loki called out to Coulson who was now almost to the exit into the corridor, almost half the room length away from Loki and Verda. He stopped, turning towards Loki, appearing not to understand his question.

"Relic?" Coulson questioned, Loki unsure whether his apparent confusion was sincere or feigned. 

"It possesses power you cannot hope to control or contain. He will come for it."

"I'm not sure what you're referring to. This part of the facility isn't in use at the moment. It will be soon. We've gotten the green light to begin research and development of clean and sustainable energy."

"Not now." Verda whispered to Loki, reaching down and taking his hand before speaking to Coulson. "Loki shares his mother's ability to see glimpses of possible futures. At times they can come upon him without warning." Verda said "Perhaps he senses some sort of accident that could put your people in peril. You should take heed of the forewarning." Verda told Coulson.

"I'll pass it on to our people." Coulson said, Verda pulling Loki forward to once again follow Coulson towards the exit.

****************************

"Do you think they would just hand it over to you?" Verda asked, seated in an oversized chair as Loki perused the shelf of books before him after Coulson had excused himself, leaving them alone in what looked to be a library or reading room. "Even if you would share your visions with him, he would not be able to convince the others to do so. We know it's here, we can come back for it. If you take it from them, what will you do with it?"

"There are many possibilities. It could be sunk beneath the waves of their oceans or better yet, taken to Nidavellir, jettisoned into the heart of the dying star that powers the forge. Even if it were not destroyed, it could not be obtained." Loki said, pulling a book off the shelf and opening it, scanning the first page.

"One thing at a time. Let's deal with Thor's murderers first. Then you must return to Asgard and speak with your father. If that isn't dealt with, nothing else will matter."

"Of that I'm well aware." Loki said, turning the page of the book.

"Does it not seem strange to you how easily they were able to locate him...Randolph? In my memories of the other me he had hidden himself away. He would not let me-her-leave until he said the time was right. She was to replace me."

"And after that?" Loki asked.

"I don't know...she didn't know. I suppose if she had been successful, what your father might fear, what the people may fear, could have come to pass."

"As much love as I bear you, my mind remains, and will always remain my own. I am not so easily manipulated." Loki said, closing the book and replacing it on the shelf, looking over the other titles.

"Is that so?" Verda replied, her meaning clear from her tone without her needing to say more. Loki stood silent for a moment, a dark expression crossing his features.

"That version of myself had succumbed to madness."

"You don't believe that could happen to this version of you?"

"What the stones revealed to me will allow me to avoid the pitfalls that once led me down that path." Loki answered.

"I only hope you're right," Verda said, "There's something I must tell you. It may put that to the test, but I would rather you hear it from me than Randolph." Loki turned from the bookshelf to face her.

"There's more you haven't told me?" Loki asked, uneasiness overtaking him as he examined her troubled and discomforted demeanor.

"There is a reason that Randolph sought me out over another in New Asgard, why he believed I would know where what he was seeking was hidden. It was more than merely being the first Asgardian he happened upon as I honored you that day. When I realized I had been played for a fool, it was then that I knew…"

"What is it?" Loki said, leaving the bookshelf and approaching Verda, sitting in another large, cushioned chair across from her. 

"After you hear what I am to tell you, it is possible I will no longer have to concern myself about becoming Queen." Verda told him.

"There is nothing that would turn me from you." Loki attempted to assure her.

"I would not be so sure about that." Verda responded before looking down at her hands that she had clasped together in her lap. "I told you of how I had visited your brother, your brother of what was my time, to give him a gift, how he had asked me to stay, all that we spoke of...Asgard...you. It was not the last time I would visit him and that we would speak of such things. Before he began to seclude himself, after the first time he had come upon me there, when I went each day to honor you, he would be there, waiting for me. In our shared grief, we grew close...

"I know now we were each looking for another in each other. I should have known it to be doomed from the start. He was not you and I was not Jane who had been rendered dust as had so many others. I thought I could help him. I tried. For a time I thought I was succeeding, but in the end It was not enough. I was not enough. He sought solace in drink and petty amusements...eventually he no longer wished to accompany me to honor you. All he wished to do was wall himself off from all but a few, those who had accompanied you to Asgard from Sakaar. It was as if he did not want to be reminded we existed....other Asgardians. I could no longer watch him destroy himself. I ceased visiting him. He seemed to take no notice nor to care. Though we had never spoken openly to anyone of us, I'm sure others suspected, as frequent as had once been my visits. Randolph must have known. Perhaps he had visited New Asgard in the past as had other mortals, though I did not recall seeing him before that day. Maybe he'd heard talk of us, though by the time he made his offer it had been two years since I had walked away. Still, he must have believed that if anyone were to know where Thor had hidden what it was he was seeking, it would be me." Verda finished.

"You and my brother...you were..." Loki said in disbelief.

"Yes." Verda replied. Loki rose from the chair and turned away, exiting the room.

****************************

Coulson stood next to Loki and Verda in front of a large window as Elliot Randolph, appearing confused and bewildered, was led in shackles into a room and seated at a table.

"Can he see us?" Verda asked Coulson.

"No."

"That is the man….but something is different." Verda said. She glanced beside her at Loki who continued to stare at Randolph through the window.

"I'll bring you in when I'm ready for you." Coulson said. He hit a button on a panel below the window. "You'll be able to hear everything we say." Coulson moved off towards a door a few feet from the window that led into the room, leaving Loki and Verda alone. Verda looked over to Loki noticing the dark, troubled expression on his face that she knew was not in response to Randolph alone.

"Maybe I should not have told you. If he were to say anything regarding it, I didn't want you to be caught off guard."

"What else have you been keeping from me?" Loki asked, continuing to stare at Randolph.

"Nothing. I have now shared all with you."

"Did you love him?" Loki asked.

"Of course I did...but it was different. I suppose everyone that one loves throughout their lifetime is different. It wasn't the same as what I feel for you. It was you within him I was hoping to find. I'm sure he knew. I so often asked him to tell me stories of you. It was likely why he began to distance himself. Even though you were dead, though you hadn't even known my name, he knew to whom my heart would always belong. I thought little at the time of speaking of you with him as he often talked of Jane. We were both trapped within the shadow of another."

"If my brother were here now-"

"That is not a question that you should feel the need to ask or have answered. He left us. He gave up the throne to another and went out into the universe. He did not come to see me to say goodbye. It was as if he had forgotten all we had shared, as if he had forgotten I existed. As much as he had been drinking at the time, perhaps he had." Verda was quiet for a moment, contemplating. She glanced away from the window over to Loki who had yet to look in her direction. Reaching both hands to the back of her neck, she unclasped the necklace before reaching down and taking hold of Loki's hand, lifting it and placing the necklace within it.

"You should not spend your days questioning whether your Queen's heart belongs to another." Verda said, bowing her head. Loki gazed down at the pendant of the necklace in his hand, his eyes again drawn to the damage to it.

"The man you knew was not my brother. My brother was not a drunk who would treat with disdain one who cared for him. He died nobly and peacefully in his bed. He never knew you." Loki said, placing the necklace back around Verda's neck before kissing her.

"I'm just a university professor. That's all. I don't know what any of this is about. I haven't killed anyone or had anyone killed. Why would I?" Loki and Verda heard Randolph say from the room on the other side of the window.

"You've been positively ID'd by a witness. She says that you're the man that spoke to her, that you made threats. She's here. She saw you when you were brought in. She said there was no question that you're the same man. How do you explain that?" Coulson grilled Randolph.

"I haven't the faintest idea. I haven't left Spain in almost two years. I don't know how to explain it. They say everyone has a twin." Randolph answered. At the mention of the word 'twin,' Verda recalled the moment that Coulson had removed the mask from her double.

"I think he does." Verda said, realization dawning on her.


	16. Chapter 16

"A place for everything and everything in its place. I think they organized it better than we did." Selvig said, Pym standing on one side of him, Jane and Darcy on the other, as they examined a shelving unit of scientific equipment that had been returned on Coulson's orders by S.H.I.E.L.D agents.

"I tell my people if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing right." the four heard Nick Fury's voice say from behind them.

"I thought my part in all this was over." Selvig said as the four turned to face Fury.

"It is. All water under the bridge." Fury responded.

"Is there something else you need?" Selvig asked, anxious for Fury and the other S.H.I.E.L.D agents to be on their way and for life to return to normal, or as normal as it ever would be now that he had been enlightened about the existence of Asgard and the fact confirmed that they weren't alone in the universe.

"You have quite the resume, Dr. Selvig. I'm impressed. I'm here to make you an offer." Fury explained.

"He's not interested." Pym said, his tone hostile.

"Hank Pym. I've heard a lot about you. I was with S.H.I.E.L.D. during your time with us but of course I was a bit farther down the ranks back then. I never got the chance to meet you. Nick Fury." Fury said, approaching Pym, his hand extended. Pym neglected to take it, giving Fury a death stare. Fury lowered his arm back to his side. "I get it. I'd be pissed too, but a lot's changed since then."

"The more things change, the more they stay the same." Pym responded. Fury turned his attention back to Selvig.

"We're beginning a new project researching a source of clean energy. We're working with people from N.A.S.A. If we're successful we'll be saving the planet and everyone that calls it home. We know we can't go on the way we've been going or sooner or later, likely sooner, we'll go the way of the dinosaurs. I'd love to have you on board. If that sounds like something you'd be interested in…" Fury said, handing Selvig a card.

"I'll think about it." Selvig replied, looking at the card in his hand.

"Just be sure it's you doing the thinking." Fury said, looking at Pym, Pym glowering back in return. "I'll get out of your hair and let you get on with your work." Fury said, turning and walking towards the exit to the service station before turning around again to address Pym. "I heard what you did to Mitchell Carson..can't say I wasn't tempted to do the same myself a few times...more than a few."

"So why didn't you?" Pym asked.

"As the saying goes, I like to keep my friends close and my enemies closer." Fury answered.

"Your enemies might be a lot closer than you think." Pym responded before Fury turned back around and made his exit.

************************************

Coulson turned his head towards the door to the interrogation room as it unexpectedly opened, Verda stepping through it. Randolph's jaw dropped at the sight of the woman dressed in the attire of a female warrior of Asgard.

"This isn't about any murder. Odin sent you to bring me back. So I guess it's back to breaking rocks. After all this time, never putting a foot wrong… except for that French woman, I can't help it, I'm a sucker for a pretty face….got drunk a few times...haven't done that in awhile. Other than that, I haven't caused any trouble. He's left me alone all these centuries. What changed his mind?" Randolph asked. Coulson appeared confused, looking from Verda to Randolph.

"You're Asgardian?" Verda asked, her voice reflecting her shock. Loki entered the room from behind her, stepping to her side.

"Wait...so you're not here to take me back?" Randolph said, realizing he had needlessly and foolishly due to his quick assumption confessed his secret.

"You're one of them?" Coulson asked, bewildered.

"Maybe you've read about me, though I doubt it...everyone's into the Greeks...the Warrior Who Stayed."

"You say you weren't involved in the murder of Thor?" Verda asked.

"There really was a murder? On Asgard? Thor's dead? Of course not...I'm a pacifist. I'd had enough of killing. I never really wanted to fight...before I got tired of fighting, I got tired of breaking rocks. I was a mason. All I really wanted to do was travel. The only murders I've committed have been a few insects...I don't enjoy that, really. I avoid it when I can."

"You're the man she spoke with. She shared her memory of you with me." Loki said.

"He is the man, yet he is not the man, as it was with my double...me but not me." Verda explained.

"You claim to detest violence." Loki stated. It struck Loki as strange, Midgard being known as a violent realm that a man who claimed to be a pacifist would wish to remain instead of returning to Asgard where violence, at least on Asgard itself, was rare. 

"Perhaps he is destined to succumb to madness. It's not as if that's never happened before." Verda said, turning her attention from Randolph to look over at Loki.

"Why would I want Thor dead? I don't see how that would benefit me. I couldn't care less about Asgard's affairs. I have no intention of ever returning. I'm happy here. I admit it's a bit lonely at times...dating's a challenge when you know you'll outlive everyone by a couple millenia and you have to change your identity every twenty or so years."

"He kept someone hidden somewhere for almost a year. It was like a crypt. He said he had once hidden something there which had never been found. Would you know of such a place?" Verda asked. Randolph froze, the color appearing to drain from his face, an expression of anxiety coming over him.

"The catacombs under El Divino Nino in Seville. They were built over ancient Roman ruins in the 8th century and then the church later built over them." Randolph answered.

"Could you take us there?" Coulson asked.

"Yes...but if he has what I think he has, you'd better bring an army along with you."

************************************

Loki and Verda had returned to the library as Coulson made arrangements for them to accompany Randolph back to Spain and to assemble the 'army' Randolph had warned may be necessary.

"I had thought that he was manipulating my sister but he says he was a warrior with no skill in magic. He couldn't have gained access to her in her cell or helped her overcome the collar. Whoever did has to be the one pulling his strings as well. You don't go from being a pacifist to assassinating the next King of Asgard overnight." Verda said as Loki once again perused the bookshelves. He removed a book after reading the title on the spine…'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.' Loki stared down at the book for a moment.

"After Hela arrived on Asgard...what became of those in the dungeon?" Loki asked.

"I'm not sure. I know Heimdall rescued and led all he could to the stronghold. Perhaps he released them."

As if speaking his name was a summons, as it had actually turned out to be for Selvig, the same deep voice and imposing figure that had visited Selvig in the interrogation room now appeared near Loki, though only he was able to see and hear him.

"Loki, my prince...my queen, your mother summons you." 

************************************

Loki and Verda crossed the rainbow bridge in silence after Heimdall had advised Loki of the situation that had prompted Frigga to recall him from his mission on Midgard. To his relief the situation was not quite as dire as he had feared, though he knew the clock was still ticking. He resisted the urge to once again look towards the section of the bridge from which he had plummeted in his visions.

Despite his reassurances to Verda after her confession, a darkness had descended over a part of him, like a specter of Thor's shadow returning. He was aware on an intellectual level that Verda had not wronged him and in fact, it had been something of him she had been searching for in his brother as she had explained, yet what he felt had yet to catch up with what he knew. Had she been with a hundred men before him, it would not have mattered to him if among those hundred had not been his brother.

He had believed he had possessed something that was his and his alone, that he had something that his brother had never had, had won something his brother had not won. It had been a feeling akin to what he would have felt if he had ever for the first time returned from the Kynsblot Eve hunt as the victor and Thor empty handed.

"You should have brought Mjolnir. We could have flown as your brother once did. It would have been less painful. Sif's feet are just a bit smaller than my own." Verda said offhandedly, referring to the pair of Sif's boots that she wore.

"Of course my brother's ways... in all things... were superior." Loki responded.

"That's not true. I never said that." Verda paused for a moment, looking over to Loki, his eyes downcast, "I didn't come here for your brother! I didn't kneel in the mud and the snow those many years for him!" Verda stopped, removing the boots and carried them in one hand as she proceeded, walking swiftly past Loki.

"Verda…" Loki called out, Verda continuing on her way. "Verda...wait...stop…" Verda turned back to face Loki once again as he quickened his pace to catch up to her.

"This is why you went mad! It will happen again unless you accept and value yourself for who you are! You and your brother are...were.. different people and that's ok! The only person you should ever feel it's necessary to be better than is the man you were yesterday! Not your brother, not your father!" Verda said as Loki reached her. "There are many things I learned from my time with your brother. One cannot save someone who doesn't wish to be saved, who is not willing to save themselves. One cannot truly love another unless they first love themselves."

"There are many who would say that is not an area in which I experience great difficulty."

"And they would be wrong. You've tricked and lied to and betrayed yourself far more than you have ever done anyone else."

"Is this what I have to look forward to for millennia ...such insolence and brazen honesty?" Loki asked, appearing and sounding irritated before his tone and expression changed as he grinned. "Good." he said as he took her in his arms, pulling her to him. 

************************************

"Father…" Loki said, approaching Odin who he found sitting upon a stone bench within the palace's lush gardens, staring out over the crystal water of a pool reflecting like a liquid mirror the blue sky above. "Mother said I would find you here."

"My son...join me." Odin said, his voice calm and quiet, unlike what Loki was used to hearing emanate from the usually imposing figure of his adopted father.

"Mother is worried over you."

"My queen has spent far too much of her life worrying over me. When my time comes it will be a relief to me to know that she will no longer have need to do so. And what of you? Does my son worry over me as well?"

"I would not be here otherwise." Loki answered.

"It has been some time since I have come to this place. I have dedicated my life to safeguarding that which I have taken so little time to appreciate. I'm afraid it was the same with you and your brother. I failed you, both of you. I was so concerned with preparing you to be worthy of the throne that I did not appreciate you as my sons. Instead of brothers, I made you into rivals."

"There is rivalry between all siblings to some degree." Loki said, unable to help thinking of Verda and Lorelei who had had no throne for which to compete. He had often in the past wondered if his relationship with Thor would have been different had they been born and raised in a family of no renown. He now had his answer. "It is true that you have not been a perfect father. It is also equally true I have not been a perfect son. I know I have often made things difficult for you. That is why I regret that I must do so now. There's something of great importance we must discuss before you take your rest."

"You have used the stones."

"You know I possess them?" Loki said, surprised but at the same time the revelation not a complete shock. 

"I know as well what you also know...that the universe has experienced a great shift, things are not as they were to be."

"Then you know of whom I have come to you to speak."

"Hela, your sister, my firstborn." Odin said, staring out over the water, at the reflection of the clouds above drifting across it.

"If she is released, Asgard, the realms, the universe, all for which you have dedicated your life to protect will fall."

"I had planned to transfer the lock of her prison to Thor after he had taken the throne and I had prepared him. I'm afraid I now lack the strength and the time to prepare you before I take my rest."

"As we have seen, one's life can be fleeting, one's demise unexpected. The continued security of the realms and the universe should not rest on the shoulders of one person. You may draw the strength necessary from mother and I. The stones hold great power, more than enough to keep her imprisoned for eternity."

"As lives can end, so a relic can fall into the wrong hands." Odin stated.

"Not if it can't be reached." Loki replied.

"There is another matter that concerns you...she who you wish to take as your queen."

"That is of far less importance at the moment-" Loki began.

"The contentment of its king is of great importance to Asgard. That is also why it is imperative that a king chooses his queen wisely. A man can possess nothing better than a good wife nor anything worse than a bad one. I have known both and can attest to the truth of that statement. Hela's dark ambitions were only rivaled by those of her mother."

"She is not her sister. She shed no tears at her demise. As Lorelei is no more, the people will have nothing to fear. I could extoll her many virtues but it would be far simpler to say that it would be a great loss to Asgard if it were not to have such a woman as its queen."

"I know well enough that if I were not to grant you my blessing, you would only cleave to her all the more. May she bring you the joy and comfort that your mother has brought me these many centuries."

"Speaking of mother, she wishes you to join her. I must soon return to Midgard."

"And I must soon take my rest. I can wait no longer. Before I do so and before you depart once more...the formal ceremony can be held after…" Odin said, rising unsteadily, Loki rising and assisting him. "If you are both prepared as well…"

************************************

It was not the grand and glorious coronation that Loki had for centuries envisioned but strangely he found that he didn't care. The people who had come to matter to him most were there...his mother, the expression of anxiety she had displayed upon meeting them as they entered the palace and she had told him of Odin's refusal to be moved from his place in the gardens now replaced with a proud smile as she stood beside the throne, Verda at her side, Sif and the Warriors Three also bearing witness as he kneeled before his father.

"Loki Odinson, my heir...I have defended Asgard and the lives of the innocent across the nine realms in the time of the Great Beginning. The day has come for a new king. Do you swear to guard the nine realms?"

"I swear."

"And do you swear to preserve the peace?"

"I swear."

"Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition and to pledge yourself only to the good of the realms?" Odin continued. It was perhaps the most difficult vow for Loki to make. He had for so long he now realized lived his life mired in selfish ambition. Now his only ambition was to return from Midgard with Thor's murderers and to bestow upon Sif the axe with which the justice due them would be meted out.

"I swear."

"Then on this day, I, Odin, Allfather, proclaim you King."

The words echoed in Loki's head. He was king, the burden of the throne now his to shoulder. It was a moment of satisfaction but also one of doubt and fear as he hoped he would be proven equal to the task.

Frigga took Verda's arm, leading her down from their place beside the throne to stand at Loki's side as Loki raised himself to his feet. Odin slowly stood from the throne, weakly making his way down from it to stand before the two.

"Asgard gains not only a new king this day, but a queen as well." Odin announced.

For the second time within minutes, Loki found himself swearing a vow, one of a different sort as he took Verda's hand in his own, slipping the gold band that had been procured for the occasion onto Verda's finger.

"I give you that which is mine to give. I pledge to you my living and my dying, each equally in your care. I shall be your shield and shall honor you above all others." As Loki finished, Frigga stepped forward, putting another gold band into Verda's hand, she placing it upon Loki's finger as she repeated the same vows he had just made.

At the completion of their promises to one another, Odin produced a gold cord, wrapping it around their clasped hands from wrist to wrist.

"What I have joined will be joined eternal, heart to heart, hand to hand. You now belong forever to each other."

************************************

"I wasn't sure when you'd be back. We'll go in first, they'll stand by until we give the word." Coulson said to Loki and Verda as they once again entered the expansive room which Loki had previously recalled from his vision. Loki looked to the men and women dressed identically in military style black jumpsuits that had gathered in the room, arranging and inspecting various pieces of equipment, weapons and other gear.

"So this is my army..." Loki said to Coulson as he continued to watch them prepare.

"Not 'yours' exactly. We're letting you borrow them for awhile."


	17. Chapter 17

"Yerrick…" Elliot Randolph's doppelganger, he who had met Verda at the cairn that fateful day nearly a year prior said as he approached then knelt before the svelte man in the long, hooded leather tunic whose face was obscured by the black, gold trimmed mask almost identical but for its color to those worn by Thor's assassins. The masked man turned, his hands clasped behind his back, to face Randolph.

"You may rise. You have news?" Yerrick asked in his almost monotone, deep voice from behind the mask, a voice Randolph had always thought sounded as if it belonged to a far larger man. Yerrick turned back to face a wall of television sets in the metallic paneled room, all tuned to various news channels, each displaying video of some sort of unrest, violence and warfare and its aftermath in various places around the globe.

"They've taken him." Randolph said, standing.

"Everything is proceeding as planned." Yerrick said, both he and Randolph now stood before the series of screens watching in silence for a few moments. "Do you know from whence all of this originates? All of this destruction? All this suffering and chaos?" Yerrick asked Randolph.

"Greed? Selfishness?"

"Those things and more. They live their pathetically short lives in a mad scramble for power, for identity. At the heart of it all is one great lie. As did their ancestors, they have spent their lives lying to themselves and to each other. I have come to put paid to that lie, to free them from it, to bring order to disorder. They were made to be ruled. Only when they accept that can they experience life's true joy. The wretched creatures of this realm will finally know peace."

*******************************

"He kept her down here for a year? But then I suppose when you have a lifespan of a few thousand years, a year must be like...what...a week?" Coulson said as he, Randolph, Loki and Verda traversed the dark, narrow, winding, cobwebbed corridors of the subterranean crypt, both Coulson and Randolph carrying electric lanterns, their bluish tinted glow lending to the eeriness of their surroundings.

"Time passes for us at the same rate as it does for mortals." Loki informed him. He also found it hard to believe, though he knew it must be true, that Verda's past self had been held in such a place for so long.

"He had convinced her that Loki's life was in danger and she was to save it. That was what allowed her to endure. He also provided books and various amusements...television, video games..." Verda led them into a room, a small bunk along one wall, a television, DVD player, and a video game system sitting on a stand, all plugged into a large battery powered generator.

"Video games?" Loki asked.

"Yes. Your brother had grown quite fond of them...one of the petty amusements I spoke of. They are an effective means of escape from reality."

"Every anti-social teenager's dream come true." Coulson quipped as he examined the room and the modern devices that clashed with the ancient stone walls of the crypt. "He's not here. I doubted he would be but sometimes you get lucky. If he shows up anywhere on the planet with a security camera-" Coulson began before the sound of multiple bootsteps reached them, echoing from far down the corridor. Coulson silently pointed to the others and motioned for them to stand along the wall by the doorway before switching off his lantern, Randolph taking the cue and following suit.

"No one ever came down here the whole time I was here. It has to be him." Verda whispered.

"He must have brought friends." Coulson whispered in response.

The bootsteps grew nearer, the glow of a lantern preceding them. All four stood stiffly, holding their breath, preparing themselves for a confrontation. A body appeared in the doorway, shining his light into the room for a moment before withdrawing, Coulson taking note of what he could see of him reflected in the dead television screen along the far wall from the entrance to the room...a man sporting the black uniform of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, the lantern in one hand, a firearm in the other. The bootsteps passed the doorway, continuing down the narrow corridor, Coulson counting what he thought to be ten men.

"Walters! I didn't call them in. What are they doing?" Coulson whispered, troubled and confused. Loki produced Mjolnir in his hand, stepping through the doorway.

"Are you looking for me?" Loki said, his voice echoing, startling the men who turned, raising their rifles, deafening gunfire erupting, chipping shards of stone from the walls as Loki hurled Mjolnir in their direction, the hammer bringing down the group of ten like dominoes before returning to Loki's hand. Coulson stepped out of the doorway, looking towards his downed agents. "It appears you've lent me an army of traitors." Loki said with irritation as Coulson cautiously approached the silent and still men lying in the corridor.

"Walters was as solid and loyal an agent as any I've ever known. Where's Miles and Solukis? We have to find them. Let's go." Coulson said, fearful for the fate of the two women that had accompanied them there.

Coulson's question was answered as they swiftly exited the church, rushing towards the van parked on the street nearby. Cautiously opening the back doors, the four found the two missing female agents lying in the back, obviously deceased, their necks broken.

"Would they not agree to betray us?" Verda asked. Loki looked down on the two deceased females with trepidation.

"She's here. We must go." Loki said with urgency. Verda's expression displayed her disbelief as she put two and two together, recalling Loki's question about the inmates in the dungeon.

"No...it couldn't be." Verda said.

"Who are you talking about? Who's 'she?'" Coulson asked.

"My sister."

*******************************

"She wasn't on the ship, she wasn't among the survivors when we arrived on Midgard. She couldn't have used the Bifrost. She had to have died on Asgard." Verda said as she sat next to Loki on the bench seat within the quinjet.

"As you well know, the ship and the Bifrost were not the only means to travel to Midgard." Loki replied.

"What would her relationship be to Randolph? How would she have known he was Asgardian to seek him out?" Verda asked. Randolph, the Randolph of the current time, had remained in Seville, Coulson assigning a retinue of female S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as protection which Randolph had been pleased to accept. "They never knew each other. He came here and chose to remain before her crimes."

"Perhaps his identity was exposed in the future and she sought him out, putting him under her thrall."

"Fury's meeting us. If it is your sister, what you've said she's capable of, it might solve another mystery." Coulson said as he made his way back to them from the front of the aircraft. "What do you think she's hoping to accomplish?"

"The same thing as before, all she's ever cared about...conquest. Not just this realm, the others...perhaps even beyond. But I still don't understand...why would she have only Thor murdered? Why not murder both of you and your father and take the throne? And why send me back?" Verda asked.

"The last time she tried, she was resisted. She learned from that her abilities were not enough, she must also have legitimacy. One with her abilities wouldn't have to actually sit upon the throne to wield power. If a king of Asgard dies without an heir or naming a successor, his queen, or if both were to die, the next closest kin to either, could claim the throne. My father has no other surviving family. My uncle was slain in battle long ago before he had children."

"She had Laufey killed...you have a claim to that throne as well."

"Yes...though I had no intention of pressing it."

"If she were somehow able to convince you to do so, that would be two down, seven to go. But Hela had legitimacy, she was Odin's first born. She was still resisted and she was far more powerful than my sister could ever hope to be."

"That's true." Loki said, looking thoughtful.

"If Lorelei is behind all of this, there must be more to her plan, something we're missing." Verda said.

"Something...or someone." Loki responded.

*******************************

"How much do you know of earth history?" Fury, Coulson seated beside him, asked as he sat across from Loki and Verda at a conference table.

"I admit it has not been a subject of great interest to me." Loki admitted.

"Seventy years ago, we fought a war…" Fury began.

"Yes. Against a madman. Coulson made mention of it."

"It gave rise to a terrorist paramilitary organization called Hydra. They may have existed in some form even before that. Its origins are a bit murky. Nazi Germany went the way of the dodo but Hydra survived. We're still dealing with them today. They've infiltrated other organizations, governments, they're like a virus. They aptly named themselves after the mythical creature with nine heads...at least I hope it's mythical, I'm not sure of anything anymore. In the stories if you cut off one head, another would grow back in its place. We take them out somewhere, they crop up somewhere else. Sometimes it feels like we're playing whack-a-mole."

"Midgardians make a sport of clubbing such defenseless creatures?" Loki questioned, disgusted.

"They're not real, it's a game...never mind. Recently we've received intelligence that a good number of their members have been abandoning ship, recruited away by some new organization. Krieger and his friend had contacted us not long before they ended up on Asgard and had their faces rearranged by your brother. This new group must have gotten to them before they'd decided to take the deal.

I've been contacted in strict secrecy by someone high up the chain of command in Hydra actually asking for our help to find out who these people are. I suppose as the saying goes, better the enemy you know...of course my response was 'that's your problem, not ours,' but now it looks like it might well be ours too. The strange thing is they don't seem at all interested in recruiting Hydra's female members. I thought maybe they were just misogynist bastards. There's women in S.H.I.E.L.D. that I'd put money on in the ring over any man any day of the week, but If this Lorelei is involved, it would make sense."

"She's building an army." Verda said.

"She's Asgardian. From what we've learned from you about your people that would make her damn near impossible for us to beat, even with the weapons available to us. Even if we take out her human army if she can just whisper a few sweet nothings in a guy's ear, she'll just raise another pretty damn fast. All she'd have to do is take a walk down Bourbon Street in New Orleans on a Saturday night. If you're right, if all of this is your sister's doing...how do we stop her?"

*******************************

"I guess this isn't much of a honeymoon." Coulson said as he, Verda and Loki walked the corridor after leaving the conference room.

"A what?" Verda asked.

"The rings. I noticed when you got back. Congratulations, by the way. Guess you don't do that on Asgard. On Earth, in some cultures anyway, when a couple get married they usually go on a trip, a vacation. It's called a honeymoon."

"That would be nice. I hear Alfheim's beautiful this time of year." Verda responded.

"Alfheim?"

"It's the realm of the light elves." Verda answered. 

"Elves? So they're real too?" Coulson asked. 

"Speaking of travelling, I want you to return to Asgard." Loki said. Verda turned her head, looking at Loki in disbelief.

"Why? Don't tell me I'll be safer there. We both know that not to be true." Verda said, touching the pendant of her necklace. "I'm not leaving you, not again, not this time."

"I have some calls to make." Coulson said, sensing an argument was brewing and not wishing to be caught in the middle of it, quickly excused himself and continued down the corridor.

"My mother is an able fighter but she never accompanied my father into battle."

"As she herself told me, every queen is different. I'm not your mother. I'm to make my own path." Verda said.

"No, you are not my mother, but the day will come when you will be one yourself. Your duty will lie elsewhere."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, my place is by your side. Even after all you had done, after Thor returned you to Asgard and your father locked you away, I never wavered. Though you had buried it deep, I knew who you really were, that the boy who had saved me that day must still be within you. My loyalty will forever lie with you."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Loki responded darkly.

"I don't fear death, I fear life without you. We should both return to Asgard. You are king now. Asgard's army is yours to command. They should be made ready. Sif should be given the opportunity to avenge both Haldor and Thor."

"You're right, of course." Loki said, seemingly acquiescing to Verda's insistence on remaining with him.

"I've been thinking..."

"That could prove more dangerous than your sister." Loki quipped with a mischievous grin.

"I'm serious. How many portals are there on Asgard to Midgard?" Verda asked. "I'm only aware of the one."

"Two...one in the mountains and one in the forest. The one in the mountains exits on Midgard in a desert, the other into another forest. Which did he use to bring you to Asgard?"

"The forest. It was not too terribly far from New Asgard. It's likely Randolph and my sister are based somewhere not far from there as they've sent others through twice recently. I thought it rather ironic considering the forest was where I first met you."

"You do realize the pit you fell into was a trap of my own making. It had been intended for my brother, not girls. I was never that desperate." Loki said with a grin.

"Yes, he told me. I had already come to suspect as much." Verda answered with a smile. "We must now come up with a trap of a different sort...this one for my sister to stumble into."


	18. Chapter 18

The floor of the vast chamber, quadruple the size of a school gymnasium, was marked with painted white rings, two men sparring within each. In the hands of the men were wielded lethal swords, staffs, and maces. Those within the circle knew well what they must do if they hoped to leave it the same way they had entered it. Only one of them would do so.

From a walkway running the length of the far wall, Yerrick observed the proceedings below, any expression that would provide a clue as to his thoughts and feelings about what he was witnessing were obscured by the mask he wore, his gloved hands clutching the metal railing as Randolph approached him.

"I was told you requested my presence." Randolph asked.

"Yes. Join me." Yerrick said as he continued to watch the activity taking place below. Randolph also turned his attention to the proceedings, his face taking on a dark, glum expression.

Combatants, their individuality stripped away by their identical white masks and jumpsuits, fell in combat, Randolph watching as their bodies were dragged from the circle, the victor celebrating with machismo his triumph before stepping out, as two more entered, the action beginning once again. Any that for whatever reason left the confines of the painted ring during their bout were quickly thrust back within by others to continue the fight until it had reached its fatal conclusion. Yerrick turned his head slightly, glancing at Randolph.

"This troubles you?" Yerrick observed.

"When I served with the Berserker army, if we fell, it was not by the blades of our comrades but those of the enemy."

"The Berserkers, the Valkyrie, two of the greatest armies ever known in the universe are no more. They eventually met their gruesome end. Do you know why?" Yerrick asked.

"I suppose any army will eventually meet its match." Randolph answered.

"An army is only as strong as its weakest warriors. Odin lacked the courage to do what needed to be done. In my army, one must earn their place. The cowardly and the weak must be winnowed out." Yerrick said just before a blade of a short sword emerged from Randolph's chest in the area of his heart as he was run through from behind. After withdrawing the blade, Randolph's body slumped over the railing before Yerrick pushed it over, it landing in the middle of the ring directly below. The men within it in the midst of combat ceased fighting, they and others looking up to see Yerrick staring down at them through the mask before he turned, disappearing from view.

********************************

Coulson raised his wrist, eyeing his watch as he, Loki and Verda stepped out of the sprawling S.H.I.E.L.D. facility and into the searing daytime heat of the desert surrounding it.

"We must attend to our duties on Asgard. I will order our warriors to be at the ready. I will return-" Loki said before Verda interrupted him.

"We will return..." Verda said somewhat testily.

"I cannot say when that will be. If you have urgent need of me-."

"Us." Verda corrected him.

"Heimdall will be watching." Loki said to Coulson before turning to Verda, appearing irritated. "My memory must be failing me. I seem to remember it was I that took the sacred oath of kingship." Loki said to Verda.

"You took another oath after that one." Verda replied.

"I don't recall vowing to be the host of a likj."

"A what?" Coulson asked.

"It's a worm like creature. It attaches itself and drains one of their blood." Loki explained.

"We have those here too. They're called leeches."

"How large is a leech?" Verda asked

"About this big." Coulson said, holding his thumb and index finger around two inches apart.

"A likj is the length of one's arm. They're disgusting. I can't believe you compared me, your queen, to a likj...and in the presence of another!" Verda said, angrily striding away towards the same area where they had previously summoned the Bifrost, its marking still evident on the dry ground.

"I've been trying to convince her to remain on Asgard. She won't hear of it. Perhaps I went too far." Loki said to Coulson.

"Maybe a little." Coulson answered.

"Are you married?" Loki asked.

"No. Lifelong bachelor."

"You're the second I have met in my time on Midgard."

"Third. Fury too. There's quite a few in S.H.I.E.L.D. It's not a reflection on the institution. With the nature of the work we do...I've been seeing someone. She's a cellist...a musician. Just finding the time with our schedules..."

"I only wish to keep her safe."

"I could be wrong but I don't think comparing her to a parasite is going to accomplish that." Coulson said.

Loki left Coulson, following Verda who had come to a stop, her back to Loki, her arms crossed, brooding.

"My love…" Loki said as he reached her, placing a hand onto her shoulder.

"First I was a horse, now I'm a likj. I think I liked being called a horse better. They're beautiful and strong. Can we go back to that?"

"I was speaking in jest...surely you know by now to take seriously only half of what I say."

"How am I to know which half?" Verda asked as she turned to face Loki. "You don't understand...I have to be with you! I had finally convinced myself...if I survived Hela, if you returned to Asgard...I would stop listening to the voice of my sister in my head, I would speak to you. I would tell you who I was, remind you of that day….how you held my hand as you led me out of the forest, how you kissed me….right here..." Verda said, touching a spot at the top middle of her forehead, "before sending me on my way...how even before I knew who you were no one could take your place in my heart after that day...but then he came for it, for you...do you have any idea...searching among those that survived, realizing you weren't among them...what I felt in that moment?" Verda said anguished, barely able to finish as Loki took her in his arms, stroking her hair, relishing the feel of its silky strands.

"I imagine it was akin to what I experienced when I was told you were to die. I'm only trying to protect you." Verda raised her head from his shoulder, looking into his eyes.

"And I you! How are either of us to do that if I'm there and you're here? I survived Hela! I battled the army of Thanos and I survived! You said you should never have left me alone. Now it's all you want to do!"

"You would not be alone. You would be guarded every moment, even as you slept."

"What's changed? What is it that you're not telling me? What is it you're afraid of?"

"Myself." Loki answered.

"What do you mean?" Verda, clearly confused, replied.

"I cared for no one…I sent my own brother plummeting to what was to have been his demise. I would not have spared you."

"You're speaking of your visions. Are you afraid my sister will enchant you to go mad, to harm me?"

A strange sound, like a jet engine, but on a smaller scale, interrupted their conversation, both looking up in wonder as the figure in the red and gold metallic suit descended between them and Coulson, Coulson looking again at his watch as the figure touched down, his back to them, seeming to ignore their presence as he approached Coulson. Verda, stunned, began to drop to one knee, Loki grabbing her arm.

"What are you doing?" Loki asked, almost in a whisper.

"It is him...he who claimed the honor…" Verda replied quietly back. Loki raised her back to her feet before he suddenly squeezed his eyes closed and held his head. Verda looked to him with concern, putting a hand to his shoulder.

"What have I to fear…" said Loki quietly.

"You're five minutes late." Coulson said.

"Took a wrong turn at Albuquerque. Thought I was only a consultant. I seem to remember something about displaying 'compulsive behavior,' that I'm 'self destructive,' narcissistic...for the record I agreed with that one."

"We're consulting you now. I'll brief you on what we know so far." Coulson said as Stark turned to view Verda and Loki, their hands clasped as they stared at him.

"You were playing Dungeons and Dragons and you didn't invite me?" Stark asked.

"Can you kneel in that thing? They're royalty. This is Loki and Verda, the king and queen of Asgard. Loki, Verda, this is Tony Stark."

"Asgard? Never heard of it."

"If Asgard doesn't ring a bell, how about Odin...Thor?" said Coulson, attempting to jog Stark's memory.

"The Viking God? The one with the hammer?"

"Loki is Odin's son, Thor's brother." Coulson answered. Stark stared at Loki and Verda for a moment before bursting into laughter, turning to Coulson.

"I know people really get into the role playing stuff...never pictured you as one of them. So what are you? Dwarf? Half-elf? You called me to come all the way out here just to screw with me?" Stark turned back to examine Loki once more. "You're kinda puny for a god."

"Am I, metal man?" Loki said, stepping away from Verda, Mjolnir appearing in his hand. Stark stepped back, bracing himself for a fight.

"Loki...don't." Verda pleaded, taking a step towards him, misinterpreting Loki's actions.

"I mean him no harm." he told her before turning his attention back to Stark. "This once belonged to my brother. It is now I that wields it." Loki said, holding the hammer out to Stark. "Take it." Stark appeared suspicious as he eyed the hammer before reaching for it. As he wrapped the metal gloved hand of the suit around its grip, Loki released his own hold on it. As it had when Selvig had attempted to hold it, Mjolnir dropped heavily to the ground, Stark's arm pulled down with it. Stark struggled as he attempted to lift it, though with somewhat more success than Selvig, before his strength gave out, the hammer plunging to the ground once again.

"What the hell?" Stark said as he attempted using a few of his suit's innovations to allow him to lift it further without success.

"I am who the son of Coul says I am. I am Loki, son of Odin." Loki said, Stark finally giving up, Loki stepping over and easily lifting the hammer from the ground. Stark watched speechless for a moment before his face lit up.

"Electromagnet!"

"You wouldn't be able to move in that tin can." Coulson said.

"Yeah, right...Ok. You got me. I give up. How'd you do it?" Stark said before Loki turned, hurling Mjolnir far out over the desert. Stark watched in awe as it returned to his hand. "You mean for once someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't lying? You really are…"

"We're not gods. Erik Selvig used the term 'extraterrestrials' to describe us. We're from another realm...I believe you call them planets...Asgard. We were just about to return. I assume Coulson has summoned you here believing you could be of assistance to us. I leave it to him to explain the situation." Loki returned to Verda, she taking his hand, unable to help grinning at Starks astonished expression. "When I-"

"We…" Verda said, again correcting him.

"We return, perhaps we can have a drink."

"Yeah...sure." Stark said in disbelief.

Loki led Verda a few feet farther away to the area previously marked by the Bifrost.

"Heimdall. Bring us home." Loki called out. Stark watched, bewildered, as the Bifrost descended. After it was gone, taking Loki and Verda with it, he turned to Coulson.

"Guess it's a good thing I cleared my schedule."

*******************************

Randolph, he of that time, the one that remained among the living, slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear his vision. He glanced about the room in confusion as he realized he was lying on the floor, two of the female S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that had been assigned to protect him kneeling beside him.

"He's coming around." one of them said to the other. "Are you alright?" she asked Randolph. "You fainted. Has this happened before? Do you have a condition? Do you need anything?"

"No….no, I'm fine…." Randolph said, sitting up as he put a hand to his head. His thoughts were disjointed as he struggled to recall what he had been doing before finding himself sprawled on the floor. As the fog in his brain cleared, his eyes suddenly widened.

"Coulson...I need to talk to him...now!" Randolph exclaimed urgently, rising to his feet, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent taking his arm to assist him.

********************************

Loki and Verda stepped into Odin's bedchambers, the light dim, two einherjar standing inside the room on either side of the door and one in each of the two corners of the room nearest the bed. Loki looked to the still, silent form of his father lying in the bed. Frigga, noticing them rose from the bedside to greet them, her smile not completely masking her worry.

"You've returned." Frigga said before embracing Loki. Loki could see the fatigue in her face, the dark circles under her eyes.

"For a time. Eventually I must return once more to Midgard, but for the moment I felt it necessary to return home and take up my duties as king. How is he?"

"All seems well thus far. He put it off far longer than he should. It will likely take some time for him to awaken." Frigga replied.

"You should rest. Others can keep watch and alert you if there's any concern." Loki told her.

"Perhaps now that you've returned." Frigga answered. She held out her hand, in it the bag containing the Norn Stones. "It is done." she said. Loki took them from her.

"I will see to them." Loki said.

"I'll safeguard them until you are able to do so." Verda said, taking the bag from Loki's hand. "You have an army to make ready."

"An army?" Frigga asked, worriedly.

"I doubt they will be needed, but I wish to prepare them nonetheless. I believe we're close to apprehending Thor's murderers but they may have an army of their own. In the event our Midgardian allies' forces are not enough to subdue them…I am to meet with Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun soon. After, I will send them here to watch over him." Loki turned to Verda, "Remain with her until they arrive. I will be in the throne room." Loki said before leaving the room.

As Loki stepped out into the corridor from Odin's chambers, past the two einherjar standing sentry on either side of the doors, Sif approached.

"Loki…." she said before recalling his new position, putting a hand with a closed fist across her chest and falling to one knee. "My king….forgive me. It will take some getting used to."

"We can dispense with the formalities...at least for now." Loki said, Sif rising, "I have an assignment for you. A most important one. I wish you to see to Verda's safety. Do not allow her to be alone, even while she sleeps. You must remain with her at all times unless I am present. You may assign einherjar to assist you, as many as you feel are needed. I trust she will be safe in your hands."

"I will not fail you. You believe there may be another attempt on her life?" Sif asked.

"They must know by now of the failure of their assassin. They may send another. She is with my mother now." Loki informed her, Sif nodding and entering Odin's bedchambers. Loki made his way down the corridor in the direction of the throne room.

*******************************

Hank Pym stood in front of a chest of drawers in the bedroom of his home. Slowly opening the top drawer, he pulled a framed photograph from under a few folded shirts, looking down on the face of his lost wife.

"Her death wasn't in vain." Pym heard Fury's voice say from where the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. stood leaning in the doorway, his arms crossed.

"Yes it was. It was all in vain. Everything. Everything I worked for." Pym replied, seemingly not surprised at Fury's presence. "I won't ask how you got in here."

"When was the last time you used it? The suit?" Fury asked.

"That day. I hid it away. No one can get to it. Not even you. Even I couldn't if I wanted to. I'm too old for all that now anyway. I can't believe it's been that long. It seems like it was only yesterday..." Pym said mournfully.

"Speaking of yesterday...what do you know about time travel?"


	19. Chapter 19

Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun approached the throne to see Loki seated upon it, so engrossed in the book he held in one hand, Gungnir, the spear of the king in the other, that he at first failed to register their presence. Though they had witnessed Loki's impromptu coronation, had heard him take the oath, and knew well that they were now the subjects of a new king, they were unaccustomed to the sight of Loki seated in that exalted position. Had it been Thor, the sight would not have been so jarring as they had for quite some time expected him to be the one to succeed his father.

The Warriors Three glanced at each other questioningly as Loki appeared to ignore them before lowering themselves to one knee, each in deference to their new king placing an arm across their chest as they did so and bowing their heads.

"As I suspected…" Loki said out loud, referencing the story, as he closed the book, the three men before him unsure whether he was speaking to them or himself.

"My king..." said Fandral as the tome vanished from Loki's hand before he peered down at the three from the throne.

"As much as I may enjoy the sight of you groveling before me, and I most certainly do…" Loki said with a satisfied grin, his mind recalling to him the many times during their shared childhoods that he had been teased and chided by the three now paying homage to him, "we have important matters to discuss. Join me." Loki said as he rose and stepped down from the throne, The Warriors Three rising to their feet as Loki walked past them carrying Gungnir, they turning to dutifully follow their new king.

*****************************

"Will she be alright? The Queen. She looked so tired." Verda asked Sif as the two women exited Odin's chambers, entering the corridor.

"It is you who are now Asgard's queen. It is far from the first time Frigga has sat vigil during his rest."

"But this is not like the other times. So much has happened."

"She is strong. She will endure." Sif assured Verda.

"There is so much I have to learn. She is to instruct me yet we've barely had more than a few moments to speak. I have no idea what I am expected to do." Verda confessed.

"The most important duty of the Queen is to support her King."

"That's what I'm trying to do...but he doesn't seem to want me to. He wishes me to remain here when he returns to Midgard." Verda lamented.

"He may be right. As Odin has no other children and Loki and yourself have not yet had the opportunity to produce an heir, if he were to fall, you would ascend the throne."

"I never wanted to be queen let alone the queen. It wouldn't matter anyway. I would not long sit upon it. If he were to fall, they would surely wrest it from me." Verda said. She looked down at Sif's clothes that she wore. "I suppose I should change. I'd like to visit the gardens, unless Loki has forbidden it."

"He charged me to remain by your side. He said nothing of restricting your movements."

"You don't mind, do you?" Verda asked.

"It is my duty to accompany you wherever you wish to go, my Queen." Sif said. Verda glanced over at Sif with an expression of discomfort, "You are now the Queen of Asgard. You must accustom yourself to it."

"I know you're right." Verda acquiesced with a sigh, a moment of silence passing between the two before Verda continued, "Loki has told me of your feelings for Thor...if he had in time come to return them...if he had ascended the throne as was Odin's wish...would you have been pleased to become queen?"

"I'm not sure 'pleased' would be the correct word. I would have willingly performed the duties that Asgard and my King expected of me, just as I have always done."

"But would you not have had to sacrifice your life as a warrior?"

"I suppose so...eventually, for a time, at least. That does not mean I would have ceased to be a warrior. It would not have changed who I am. The king as well must make sacrifices."

"And what would those be?" Verda asked. It did not appear to her as if Loki had been forced to give up or fundamentally change anything about himself since taking the oath, at least not to the extent Sif would have been expected to were she to have become Asgard's queen. It hardly seemed fair in Verda's view, especially for someone in Sif's position, who had worked so hard to earn her place.

"How much of your time did you spend before all of this considering the welfare of Asgard, that of the realms? Did you much worry over any of it?" Sif asked. Verda considered Sif's question, appearing thoughtful.

"Not especially," Verda said. "I suppose I assumed all would be well and would continue to be, that Odin had everything in hand or at least it soon would be. I was concerned with my own affairs."

"For a king, Asgard and the realms are his affairs, his only affairs. Everything he does, every decision he makes he must have their wellbeing as his primary consideration, even in what would for anyone else be considered private matters. Loki swore to cast aside all selfish ambition, to pledge himself only to the good of the realms. Odin had taken that same oath long ago. That is why others that call Asgard and the realms home have the freedom to concern themselves with other things, to pursue their own pleasures and ambitions, freedoms that Loki will never again enjoy. It will be quite an adjustment for a man such as himself." Sif explained.

"You do not believe he is up to the task?"

"I did not say that...only that it may be more difficult for him than for others."

"You mean Thor."

"You are now my queen and as such I must ask your permission to say what it is I next wish to say." Sif informed Verda.

"You need never ask my permission to be honest with me whether it is in regards to myself or Loki. I want to be told the truth, always, for others to tell me what they think and feel and believe. I insist on it. It will serve neither myself nor Asgard to coddle me."

"Spoken like a true queen." Sif said to Verda, appearing somewhat surprised by Verda's words and the confidence in which she had spoken them considering what Sif had witnessed and taken as Verda's seeming complete devotion to Loki. She had feared Verda would not wish to hear anything that might be taken as criticism of him. "Though Thor was far from stupid, if it had come down only to intellect, Loki would have been the clear choice to succeed Odin. Yet despite his intelligence, he has always had many blind spots. He is very good at spotting flaws and weaknesses in others, but not in himself. That is another of your duties as queen, to make him aware of them, to right him when he may err. It may be the duty that takes up the greatest amount of your time." Sif said, the two reaching what was now the King and Queen's chambers, the einherjar standing sentry at the door, opening them for the two women who then entered.

"On the contrary, he has always been very aware of them, painfully so." Verda said. "We both had someone telling us we were unworthy. The day we first met, as children, it was him that I heard crying in the forest...he would go there to release his pain, his anguish, as he wished no one, especially his father, to think him weak. He could not be Thor, he could only be himself, and he was so different from the picture others had in their heads of what a Prince of Asgard, what a King of Asgard, should be. He saw no value in himself as no one else seemed to. For all his talk of taking the throne, all he really wanted was to be seen as Thor's equal, to feel he was equally valued." Verda explained. Sif stood silent for a moment, processing what Verda had revealed to her.

"I admit I was often unkind to him. I suppose I had the same picture you speak of in my head as well." Sif replied, not having expected such a revelation and never having considered it, shame coloring her tone.

"You must forget that picture, all you thought you knew. If given a fair chance to prove himself, he will do so. Will you give him that chance? Will you speak to the others, convince them to give him that chance as well?"

"Yes...of course." Sif agreed, "You may not have wished to be queen, but I would say you are doing quite well."

"I don't say what I do because I am queen, I would rather Loki had never taken the throne. If I had one wish it would be that Thor had lived. I say it because of my love for him, because I know the man he truly is, that he has always been behind the mask he has long worn." Verda was silent for a moment as if pondering a question, "The danger we face, Asgard, Midgard and the other realms, perhaps the rest of the universe, is great. We can use all the help we can get. There is something I must do, that I must try. I'm not certain it will work. I would not usually ask you to keep a secret from your king, but I must do so now."

*****************************

"You would betray your own queen?" Fandral asked, aghast, Volstagg and Hogun appearing equally confounded.

"I will do what I must." Loki said as he stood behind what had been Odin's desk in what had been Odin's study, now his own as king.

"She would never forgive you." Volstagg said as he nervously played with his beard, discomforted by the scheme Loki had just outlined after enlightening them to all that he had learned on Midgard and the danger they faced.

"Trust me, she has forgiven far worse." Loki stated.

"But if she is willing, why not allow her to fight?" Hogun asked.

"Because of what I know I would become if she were to fall...which is far more likely to happen if I am correct." Loki turned his back to the three, crossing his arms and bowing his head. "When all others yearned for my brother's attention and affections, she longed for mine, she was willing to offer up her own life for my own or to die with me, she loved me...she loves me...unless you are aware of another of which the same can be said, I believe that makes her quite extraordinary, even more so than any relic my father has stored away in the vault."

"And like them you would lock her away?" asked Volstagg.

"I will do whatever is necessary to keep her safe."

*****************************

"Randolph is dead." Yerrick said to the woman in the sky blue gown, her long copper hair flowing down her back who stood before what appeared to be a small bar, pouring herself a drink. The windowless room shared the same cold, gray metallic walls as all the others in the compound, yet the decor, the tapestries and the canopied bed gave it a palatial air.

"Good." she said, pouring a second drink. "They will soon come and just as quickly they will fall, Asgard, Jotunheim and the rest after. We will rule them together." Lorelei turned with a drink in each hand, holding one out to Yerrick who approached her. "You may remove that, there is no one else here, nor will there be for some time. I have ordered that we not be disturbed. You have done well. You should be rewarded."

Yerrick took the drink Lorelei offered, using his other hand to remove the mask, revealing his face, Loki lifting the glass to his lips and emptying it. Setting it down along with the mask onto the bar, he took Lorelei's glass from her hand and placed it on the bar as well before taking her in his arms, holding her tightly against him, the two sharing a deep and passionate kiss.

*****************************

"Time travel?" Pym asked, surprised by Fury's query.

"That's what I said." Fury replied.

"Theoretically it's possible, but it wouldn't be like in the movies."

"So no Back to the Future, no Terminator?"

"No, and no you couldn't go back and throw Hitler in front of a bus...well, you could, but it wouldn't change anything here. Any changes to the past would create a new timeline from that point, branching off from this one, the original."

"What if this isn't the original, what if we're one of the branches?"

"That's not possible. The only way would be if...forget it. Nice try but I'm not telling you anything."

"What did you mean when you said my enemies might be closer than I think?"

"I have a feeling you're going to find out soon enough." Pym said.

"I'd rather find out long before that. If S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been compromised, I need to know and I need to know who and how many. Think you could help a brother out?"

"You mean someone in S.H.I.E.L.D. is finally going to listen and take me seriously? You'd better be careful. I'm an old man now. I might have a stroke. Why do you want or need my help?" Pym asked skeptically.

"Heard you have some tech which might make flushing them out easier….and maybe I just want to see someone's face slammed into a tabletop...I missed it the first time around."

*****************************

Verda and Sif approached the pool in the gardens, the same by which Odin had previously sat. Verda stood by it, gazing down at her reflection. Holding out her hand, the bag containing the Norn Stones appeared within it.

"The gardens have been cleared. There's no one here but us." Sif said. "I'm not sure about this...after what happened to Loki…"

"I'm not asking them to show me anything. They either will or they won't, they can or they can't. Either way it should not take long."

"You realize if anything happens to you it will be me that will be for the axe." Sif said.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry." Verda said as she removed the stones, handing the empty bag to Sif.

Sif watched nervously as Verda, in her gown, waded into the water of the still and crystal clear pool a few steps before turning around and lowering herself to float on her back for a moment before going under.

*****************************

Verda walked the familiar path through New Asgard, sea water dripping from her hair and gown. Those she passed looked to her questioningly, both due to her state and the Asgardian gown she wore which, though Asgardian themselves they had not seen worn by another Asgardian for some time, before continuing on their way. Finally reaching the door of the familiar abode, Verda stood for a moment, wet and shivering, before taking a breath and preparing herself, extending her arm, her fist already closed around the stones, to knock on the door.

"Just a moment…" the familiar voice called out as she remembered having heard so many times before.

Verda braced herself as the knob turned and the door swung open. Thor stood before her, his hair that had once been cut short on Sakkar now growing out, reaching his shoulders, his body not yet obviously ravaged by drink. He looked at her with surprise and concern.

"Verda…? Why are you-" Thor began to ask. Before he could finish, Verda, tears in her eyes, finding herself rendered speechless, threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him, the sea water that soaked her gown now also soaking through Thor's clothing as she clung to him. "Has something happened? Come inside." Thor said, gently peeling her off of him and leading her through the door, closing it behind him. "Did you have an accident? You look as if you fell into the sea."

"I….I came from the sea…." Verda said, her teeth chattering, her body continuing to shake.

"You're freezing...wait there..." Thor said, quickly walking into another room and returning with a blanket, wrapping it around Verda like a cloak and rubbing her hair and then her arms in an attempt to dry and warm her. "I'm sorry, I have no clothing that will fit. I don't believe you've left any here." As her shivering subsided somewhat, he held her in his arms, as much to continue to warm her as to display affection, looking into her face as if he would find answers there, though she only stared silently back at him, her eyes wide in wonder, tears still pooling in them. "Did someone do this to you?" Thor asked.

"No…." Verda said, shaking her head slightly, the tears now escaping from her eyes. Thor took her head between his hands, moving his lips to hers. She relished the feel of them, returning the kiss before fully realizing what she was doing. "No...I can't…" Verda said, ending the kiss, turning her head away, her eyes now closed, stepping back from him.

"What is it? You must tell me what's happened." Thor stepped forward, gripping her shoulders, for the first time noticing the necklace, lifting the pendant in his hand. "Yggdrasil. I haven't seen you wear this before. Was it a gift?"

"Yes...from Loki."

"Loki?" Thor asked, now more confused than ever. "You told me that you had only met once as children."

"That's true...here...in this time…"

"In this…? Did you strike your head when you fell into the sea...or before that?"

"No...no...I'm fine...I-" Verda stopped, scanning the room. The table was devoid of the collection of empty bottles she recalled almost always being there. She then realized there had been no taste or scent of alcohol on his breath when he had kissed her. She was reminded why she had chosen this point in time. "You haven't been drinking?"

"No...it seems somewhat early yet…would you like one? Ale?" Thor turned towards the kitchen.

"Perhaps something stronger?" Verda said, aware that beer was not the only alcohol Thor had available, though she knew it was what he drank most often.

"Yes...of course...please, sit." Thor said, leaving the room and entering the kitchen as Verda took a seat on the couch, wrapped in the blanket. He returned after a few moments with a glass and a bottle of what appeared to be whisky or bourbon and sat beside her, placing the glass on the table and pouring a drink, setting the bottle down and picking up the glass, handing it to her. It was then Verda realized that her right hand still clutched tight the stones. She opened it, transferring them to her left and taking hold of the glass, Thor now eyeing her left hand, not only due to the mysterious stones he had caught a glimpse of, but the ring on her finger. Verda took a drink from the glass.

"Thank you." Verda said before taking another drink. "I'm sorry...I know I haven't been making any sense."

"That's the first thing you have said that does make sense." Thor joked, allowing himself a grin and appearing relieved that she had managed to put a coherent sentence together. "What is it that you're holding?" Thor asked, also recalling the aborted kiss as he looked again at the ring, "Is there something you've been keeping from me?"

"No...yes...I mean, no, not when I was here before. I never kept anything from you." Verda said, finishing her drink and reaching for the bottle to pour herself another, Thor taking hold of her wrist.

"Tell me what has happened...everything." Verda turned her gaze from the bottle to look at Thor, at the concern in his expression mixed with the underlying pain she remembered had always been there since the day they had first met at the cairn.

"I'm sorry...I abandoned you...I should never have done so...though you never voiced it, I know I hurt you...that's why you did not come to me to say goodbye. I never stopped caring for you, perhaps I cared too much, it was killing me. I thought that if you truly cared for me too, when you realized...you'd stop." Verda said, tears returning to her eyes, her voice beginning to break.

"I don't understand. You're not-"

"Not making any sense. Yes, I know. If you will release me...and allow me another drink...I will tell you all."

*****************************

As the sun began to set, Loki paced the great room of his chambers, two einherjar standing inside on either side of the door. As the doors were opened by the einherjar stationed outside them, Sif and Verda entered. Loki turned towards them, quickly crossing the distance between them.

"Where have you been?" Loki said, sounding upset yet relieved at the same time.

"I decided to visit the gardens. Sif was with me. You said nothing about leaving the palace."

"You're right, I didn't. In the future, if you could send word of where I may find you…"

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I wasn't thinking." Verda said apologetically, embracing him.

"Do you wish me to remain?" Sif asked.

"No. Thank you, Lady Sif. I'll summon you again when you are needed." Loki told her, Sif bowing her head before turning and exiting the chambers. "I thought we would have our evening meal and then perhaps retire early. We have both been neglecting our rest." Loki said to Verda. She realized how tired Loki appeared to be before sensing fatigue overtaking her as well. She looked to the two einherjar by the door and then the two others standing on either side of the doorway that led to the bedchamber.

"We're now husband and wife and I have yet to have any time alone with you. Perhaps we should follow the tradition of Midgardians that Coulson spoke of."

"Is there any particular location you would like to visit?" Loki asked.

"I'll have to think about it. I'm not sure. I know so little about the other realms, the universe. Before Hela, I had never left Asgard."

"That must be remedied. Perhaps once all of this is over, a tour of the realms would be in order..." Loki said, taking Verda in his arms. "...to introduce them to the most beautiful queen Asgard has ever known."

"You're laying it on thick. What is it you want? Or are you seeking forgiveness for some foul deed of which I'm not yet aware?" Verda said, amused. "Your mother is far lovelier than I. I remember as a child thinking if only I could be as beautiful as she. If I were, perhaps I would not have been as afraid, fearing that you might find me hideous."

"If I had found you hideous, I would have left you in the pit." Loki said, grinning as Verda laughed.

"No, you wouldn't have." Verda said.

"Perhaps not...but I most certainly wouldn't have kissed you….where was it?" Loki asked.

"Here." Verda said, smiling, pointing to the same area of her forehead she had previously.

"Ah, yes...there." Loki said, placing his lips on the spot Verda had indicated.

"Did you really boast about my rescue for a week?" Verda asked.

"Who told you that?"

"Your brother."

"I believe it was nine days. Sif then threatened to beat me if I made it ten."

"Perhaps you should have married Sif. It sounds as if she kept you in line. Is that not a queen's duty?" Verda teased.

"A queen has many duties...one in particular comes to mind. Of course my assistance is required." Loki said as he smiled mischievously.

"I thought you were tired. You certainly waste no time. We have yet to have time to enjoy each other's presence and you talk of adding another's. Well, It's not happening tonight, not with these others present."

"They are sworn to secrecy as to anything they hear or witness within the royal chambers. What would they tell anyone? That a husband and wife, a king and queen, were fulfilling their duties?" Loki grinned.

"I would rather that not be referred to as a duty." Verda replied.

"I have another for you, though it will wait until morning." said Loki.

"What is it?" Verda asked curiously.

"Lorelei's possessions, what few were allowed her, are still in her cell. I would like you to go through them. I thought perhaps you may find something useful."


	20. Chapter 20

Though one would never expect Asgard's dungeon, or any dungeon for that matter, to be a location that would engender feelings of cheerfulness and gaiety, after his visions Loki was even more discomforted within its confines than he had been previously the few times he'd had reason to enter. The dark patches that had been evident under his eyes the evening before had vanished and he appeared refreshed physically, though mentally he was deeply troubled and conflicted. Verda, who had always had a talent for being keenly in tune with his moods, couldn't help but notice as they made their way down a row of holding cells, most unoccupied.

"Being here must be difficult after your visions. You didn't have to come. Sif could have accompanied me." Verda said.

"As king I had planned to make an inspection to ensure that everything is in order. I thought I could kill two birds with one stone."

"I suppose it also gives us an opportunity to spend a little more time together."

"There is that, though I can think of far more pleasant settings…" Loki stated as he glanced into a cell at its lone occupant.

"What are you to do after we're finished here?" Verda asked, attempting to divert Loki's focus from their surroundings.

"I am to meet with my ministers, after that, the security council and then with Heimdall after which I am to hear various petitions as well as bestow my blessing as king on a newborn child."

"That all sounds incredibly dull...except for the last. Why couldn't that be one of my duties? I would not mind so terribly being queen." Verda remarked as they reached their intended destination within the dungeon, Lorelei's deserted cell.

Verda stood alongside Loki as she peered into the former living space of her sister. Everything was as Lorelei had left it...the stack of books on the round table, the paper on the small desk, the writing utensil with which she had been scribbling when Loki had approached still lying atop the paper where she had placed it when he had made his presence known to her. Verda and Loki warily stepped inside almost as if they were entering a location known to be haunted.

"I can't imagine being locked away for so long. I would go mad. Perhaps her death was a mercy." Verda said quietly, her statement recalling to Loki's mind once again his visions...standing chained before his father, Odin passing judgement upon him, sentencing him, as he had Lorelei centuries before, to spend the remainder of his life in an almost identical cell. "What is it we should be looking for?" Verda asked as she picked up a book from the stack on the small table, thumbing through it before looking over at Loki...as his image faded. Quickly she turned to see the glow of the forcefield as it was activated, Loki standing by the controls, their eyes meeting. "Very funny. I should have known..." Verda began before realizing that Loki's face was devoid of the smirk she knew well that he exhibited each time he was successful at pulling off a prank. "No...Loki..."

"You'll be safe here."

"Please...Loki, you can't...don't do this to me."

"I've commanded the guards to provide you with anything you require. They are to treat you with the respect due you as queen until I return."

"What if you do not return?"

"The throne will be yours. You are far more worthy than myself."

"I don't give a damn about the throne!" Verda exclaimed. "I would hand it over to another as did your brother! All those years I wondered...could I have saved you as you once saved me? From all of it? I would again be tortured for the rest of my days by that same question! We pledged to each other that our living and our dying are in each other's care. Did those words mean nothing to you?"

"They mean everything to me. I won't allow any harm to come to you."

Verda moved to Lorelei's bunk, seating herself on the edge of the far side of it, her back to Loki, her shoulders slumped, her head hanging. "I was once told that there was no one you would not betray. I refused to believe it."

"It is not a betrayal-" Loki began before quickly being cut off by Verda.

"Go...just go...leave me…" Verda said, resigned. Loki moved his head to look to the control panel before clasping his hands behind his back as he turned and walked away.

****************************

"Thought I'd find you here." Fury said as he entered the gym, the blond man with the athletic physique sprinting past him as he ran laps around the room, completing each in half the time it would take any other physically fit man.

"It's not like there's that many places to look." Steve Rogers said as he once again passed Fury.

"It took seventy years to find you the first time. It's a lot easier now."

"Are they here?" Rogers inquired, ending his run and approaching Fury.

"They're on their way. Coulson's spoken to our Asgardian contact and left a message with him, I expect they'll be joining us soon."

"You sure I'm ready for this?" Rogers asked.

"I think the real question is are they ready for you? You're going to need this." Fury said, holding out a black permanent marker.

"Why?" Rogers asked, taking the marker and examining it.

"You'll find out soon enough." said Fury as he took hold of the edge of a manila folder, thick with papers from where he'd had it tucked under his left arm. "I thought you might want to take a look at this before we meet. There's a bio of everyone and what we know about the situation, at least so far."

Rogers opened the folder, looking at the first page.

"Stark?"

"Tony Stark. Howard Stark's son. I wouldn't mention his dad. There's some baggage there. Howard and his wife were killed quite a few years back. Car accident."

"Not a flying car, was it?" Rogers asked, recalling the first time he had laid eyes on Howard Stark demonstrating a hover car prototype.

"I don't think so, at least it wasn't flying at the time."

"Not the way I expected Howard to go out." Rogers said, looking at the second page.

"I doubt he did either."

"Bruce Banner...a scientist?" Rogers continued to thumb through the folder.

"People over the years, including Banner, have tried to replicate the process Erskine used on you. No one's quite nailed it yet." Fury produced a tablet from a large pocket inside his jacket, calling up a video before handing it over to Rogers. Rogers' watched, his expression disturbed as he witnessed the titanic green creature on the screen angrily rampaging.

"Guess it didn't exactly go his way."

"He not like that all the time. Just don't piss him off."

"I'll do my best." Rogers said warily before handing the tablet back to Fury and returning his attention to the contents of the file, "Barton, Romanoff...so we've got assassins, aliens, a guy in a metal suit, a mad scientist, and a hundred year old man you dug out of the ice."

"So far."

"Not sure if we'll be the '29 Yankees but I guess we'll see what happens. I'm going to go look the rest of this over. When you're ready for me it shouldn't take you seventy years to find me." Rogers said, making his way past Fury towards the gym's exit as he continued to peruse the file. Fury turned to follow him just as his phone rang.

"Fury..." he answered, a grin spreading across his face, "Dr. Selvig…"

****************************

Loki rose from the throne, stepping down from it as the beaming, flaxen haired woman cradling an infant approached. Her husband, his hand resting gently and lovingly on her back, led her forward, his face exhibiting a bright smile to match that of his wife.

"My king…" both said, almost in unison, beginning to lower themselves to one knee. Loki held his hand out, gesturing for them to forego the show of deference in light of the baby in the woman's arms, they instead bowing their heads.

"I am Elaina and this is my husband, Olin. We would like to express our sympathy on the passing of your brother." the child's mother said to Loki.

"Thank you. A dark day for all of Asgard." Loki said in acknowledgement. "You've come for my blessing. Is this your first? A son or a daughter?" Loki asked as he could see no clues to discern the gender of the swaddled infant.

"Yes, our first. A daughter. Thora, in honor of your brother, as she was born on that day. I wish it had been any other, however nature has her own way." Elaina informed Loki. He peered down at the infant.

"As my father says, there is light to be found within the darkness. Is she always so content?" Loki asked. He had almost no experience with children and had expected more fussing from a child so young.

"She has a wonderful temperament...until she grows hungry, then she is sure to let everyone know it." Thora's father, Olin, said.

"Then she is aptly named. My brother was much the same way." Loki said with a grin but sadness in his eyes at the reminder of Thor. Loki extended his hand, laying it upon the infant's forehead. "I, Loki, King of Asgard, bless this child, Thora Olinsdottir. May she be as noble and brave as her namesake and may she know happiness all the days of her life."

"Thank you." Elaina said, smiling as she looked down at her daughter.

"We know you must be busy. We will take up no more of your time." Olin said.

"Good luck to you." Loki said to them.

Olin and Elaina turned from Loki, traversing down the wide aisle between the tall columns of the throne room. Loki watched them go, Olin's arm around his wife.

****************************

Hank Pym stood outside the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, blocking the scorching desert sun from his eyes with his hand as its rays also glared off the sleek black body of the helicopter as it descended from the sky and touched down. After a few moments, Natasha Romanoff, her hair a brilliant hue of red that stood out against the dark background of the helicopter, left its confines followed by the man Pym had come to greet.

As the rotors of the helicopter slowed, the dust from the ground no longer being whipped into a miniature cyclone around it, Pym approached, an ecstatic smile taking over his features.

"Bruce!" Pym called out, approaching Bruce Banner and Romanoff.

"Hank? Hank Pym?" Banner called out in disbelief. He knew well Pym's feelings towards S.H.I.E.L.D., his own having previously come to match them. Both men met, Pym extending his hand, Banner taking it.

"No one knew what happened to you. You went off the radar." Pym said.

"Yeah...sorry about that. I thought it'd be better…"

"How are you doing? I mean in general….and with the...other thing. Fury told me what happened. I'd have thought you'd have known better."

"I wasn't going to ask anyone to do something I wasn't willing to do myself. I'm fine...well, maybe not fine. I've got it under control." Banner explained. "I thought you were keeping your distance from S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"I was but something bigger than any beef I have with them has come up. Fury's asked for me to consult on some things related to that. Not doing a whole lot else these days but sitting around listening to my arteries harden. Come on, let's go inside, get out of this heat. You were in India?" Pym asked, attempting to catch up, as he and Banner walked side by side towards the entrance to the facility, Romanoff and the helicopter pilot trailing behind.

"Seemed as good a place as any. They don't have surveillance cameras every two feet. There was an outbreak of Chikungunya Fever while I was there. Thought I'd do what I could to help."

"You didn't bring any of that back here, did ya?" Pym asked.

"No. Nothing to worry about."

"Good. We have enough trouble already." Pym informed him.

****************************

Loki stood once again in the dungeon, outside what was Lorelei's cell near the control panel for the containment field. Verda lay on the bunk on her side, her back to Loki. She had done some quite extensive "redecorating" since Loki had left her there. It appeared as if a bomb had gone off within the cell. The table now lay across the cell from its original location, the books scattered about the floor along with all the papers from the stack that had once sat upon the desk, the desk itself tipped onto its side. The armchair also lay on the far side of the cell, upside down.

Reaching out, Loki silently disengaged the field, the orange glow dissipated as did the soft, almost imperceptible hum that accompanied it when activated. Verda continued to lay still and silent facing away from him.

"Verda…" Loki said gently. Verda failed to acknowledge him. Loki entered the cell, approaching the bunk. He sat on the edge, putting a hand out and resting it on her shoulder. "Forgive me." Verda continued to lie in the same position, staring at the white wall in silence. "Please, say something…"

"There is nothing to say. May I go now?" Verda asked in a quiet, meek voice.

"Yes...of course." Loki said standing. Verda rose from the bunk and walked around it, past Loki, her countenance one of capitulation. She stepped out of the cell and turned to her left in the direction of the stairs that led to the dungeon's exit.

"I deserve your loathing." Loki said, staring down at his feet, appearing as downcast as a child who had just lost or broken their favorite toy. "Volstagg said you would never forgive me." Verda stopped, bowing her head, clasping her hands in front of her, still facing in the direction of the stairway.

"There is nothing to forgive. You are the King of Asgard. We are not equals. I am beneath you. I must obey your command. If you do not wish for me to accompany you, I must remain here."

"You are not beneath me." Loki said, stepping out of the cell, standing behind her.

"But I am. The day of Thor's funeral...I could not bring myself to view his body, to attend the funeral. I spent the day in the forest where we had first met. I wished to be alone, not only to mourn him as I felt guilt over his demise, knowing it was in some way my return here that brought about his end, but also to mourn that you would now be king, that once you took the throne things could and would never again be as they were, as they would have been."

"When you were dying, I found myself thinking the sort of dark thoughts as I had in my visions. I spoke of leading an army to Midgard." Loki placed his hand on Verda's shoulder, "I wanted only to protect you...not only your life." Loki turned Verda to face him, looking into her eyes. "The child I told you earlier I was to bless, they arrived before I came here...her parents' happiness, that's what I want for us. Tell me that you don't hate me."

"I could never hate you."

"You didn't know me as I was...as I was to become had everything not changed."

"My King," Heimdall said, Loki looking past Verda at him, Verda looking over her shoulder at Asgard's gatekeeper as they had failed to notice his approach. "Your mortal ally, Coulson, has given me a message for you."

****************************

In a conference room in the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility in the middle of the desert, Loki, Verda, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton along with Hank Pym sat on one side of a long table. Fury stood on the other, Coulson nearby, what appeared to be a briefcase in his hand.

"We'll play the getting to know each other game' later. I've brought you all together because we need your help. I don't mean S.H.I.E.L.D...I mean us, all of us...Earth...Asgard too, the others you've told me about," Fury said, looking to Loki and Verda. "You came here looking for the people that murdered your brother...it's now a whole lot bigger than that." Coulson approached Fury, handing him the case. Fury sat it flat on the table. "Awhile ago, I had an idea...to put together a team of people with extraordinary abilities and talents to protect this planet from extraordinary dangers. For various reasons, that idea was shelved for awhile, but now we're facing exactly that kind of danger.

"During World War II, Hydra got their hands on something, an object of phenomenal and apparently limitless power. Rogers knows what I'm talking about, the rest of you will soon. I won't go into all of the history right now, it's not important. This thing's the real deal...a clean and sustainable limitless source of energy. If we could figure out how to harness it, we could say goodbye to fossil fuels and nuclear power and all the problems that come with them for good. However, there's two sides to the coin. Energy can be used not only to create but also to destroy." Fury said, opening the case and turning it towards them. Within it sat a cube glowing with an ethereal blue light. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Tesseract."

Loki stared at the glowing blue cube, grappling with himself to resist taking possession and fleeing with it.

"Or I would have liked to…" Fury removed the Tesseract from the case and turning to face the far side of the room, hurled it against the wall, the cube shattering, the fragments littering the floor. "It seems our new friends somehow absconded with the real Tesseract right under our nose. Your job, Banner's job actually, is to find it. Once we know its location, the rest of you will go in to reclaim it. Any questions?"


	21. Chapter 21

"I can't believe any of these are still around." Steve Rogers said as he signed Coulson's vintage Captain America cards laid out on the conference room table. He now understood why Fury had given him the marker.

"There aren't many. It took me awhile to track them down." Coulson said. "Never thought I'd ever be able to have them autographed. I was there, after they found you. It's still hard to believe...was it like being asleep? Did you dream?"

"I'm not sure. I don't remember any." Rogers answered and not entirely honestly which was unlike him. He knew for certain that he had dreamed at least one dream as he recalled it quite vividly. He had often replayed it in his mind since he had awakened, the memory of it his and his alone, sacred, not to be shared with anyone. Rogers finished signing the last of the cards and capped the marker, slipping it into his pocket.

"After all this is over, I thought maybe you'd like to see my collection. There's a lot I'm sure you'd recognize. Maybe you could answer a few questions I have about a couple of them."

"Yeah, sure." Rogers said, watching as Fury, Banner and Pym who had been talking together filed out of the conference room, Barton, Romanoff and Stark who had been conversing with Loki and Verda following, leaving the two Asgardians behind. "The closest I came to meeting an alien before today was reading science fiction magazines. They usually weren't the good guys. Can we trust them?" Rogers asked Coulson in a quiet voice. Coulson glanced in the two Asgardians' direction.

"Yeah." Coulson said. "Just don't meet him at the bar for a drink."

***************************

"Lorelei has it. What are you-" Verda began after she and Loki had entered the quarters that Coulson had shown them to after their arrival, they having decided it would be more expedient to remain on earth. Loki put a finger to his lips indicating for Verda to be silent as he stepped over to the radio he had earlier asked Coulson to procure for him that now sat on a chest of drawers. Loki switched it on, turning up the volume.

"They may be listening." Loki said quietly as he returned to Verda and took her hand, leading her to seat herself along with him on the edge of one of the two bunks in the room. "Even if S.H.I.E.L.D. is able to reclaim it, the Tesseract must not remain here on Midgard. Their intentions for it are not limited to a warm light for all mankind to share. In any case, he will come for it." Loki said quietly. "I believe the time has come to revisit the agreement my father made with Midgard. They don't need the Tesseract. There is much knowledge that we could share with them that would resolve many of their difficulties."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. Even that knowledge would likely be misused by such beings." Verda replied. "They continually war amongst and slaughter each other, often over trivial matters as they have for millenia. I fail to understand what it was about Midgard or mortals that Randolph became so enamoured with that he wished to remain and live amongst them. In the future I come from, after you, even after Thanos, after learning they were not alone in the universe when one would think their eyes would have been opened they continued to do so. Would it not be better to allow such ignoble beings to continue to go their own way until they bring about their own inevitable end?" Verda responded. Loki, considering her words, appeared thoughtful.

"They are not all so ignorant or ignoble." Loki said, recalling Erik Selvig and Jane Foster.

"No, but it is true of far too many. Midgard poses no danger to Asgard or other realms, but if you were to pass on to them such knowledge, that could change."

"You've given me much to think about." Loki said, contemplating.

"Is that not one of my duties?"

"Yes, it is." Loki said. Verda glanced around the room.

"Speaking of duties..." Verda turned her head to look at Loki with a smile, "we're alone."

***************************

"So you're the guy my dad never shut up about. Surprised he didn't name me after you." Stark said as he entered the library, spying Steve Rogers seated in one of the oversized chairs, flipping through a large volume of 20th century history. Rogers raised his head, Stark making his way to the matching chair opposite Rogers.

"I was sorry to hear about the accident. Howard was a good man."

"No, he wasn't." Stark replied. Rogers recalled Fury's earlier warning.

"I suppose you got to see a different side of him than I did. I never knew my dad. He died in the war...the first one...before I was born."

"You're lucky." Stark said, Rogers giving him a confused look. "I know, it's an asshole thing to say. I'm the biggest asshole you'll ever meet, ask Fury. But that doesn't mean I'm not right. Think about it. Even if he was a bastard like my dad, you got to grow up thinking of him as a hero who sacrificed his life for his country. You never got to see the chinks in the armor."

"I guess that's true. Never thought of it that way." Rogers responded.

"Of course it's true. You can always count on an asshole to tell you the truth." Stark replied.

"So you're the man to go to when I want someone to tell it to me straight." Rogers said, a touch of sarcasm evident in his tone.

"You're damn right I am. And I'm giving it to you straight when I say you should be careful who you trust around here, especially the ringmaster leading this circus."

"Fury?"

"I'll take liar, liar pants on fire for $500, Alex. You forgot to phrase your answer in the form of a question....'who is Nick Fury?' That's the question you should be asking yourself."

***************************

Sleep evaded Verda as she lay nestled beside Loki who, in contrast, slumbered soundly on the bunk that had clearly not been designed to comfortably accommodate two, though it was not that fact which kept Verda from her rest. Carefully sliding from under the blankets out of the bunk to avoid waking him, she located her clothing that had earlier been enthusiastically discarded, dressing in the darkness and slipping silently out of the door.

As Verda neared the library, Stark exited, a dark expression having overtaken his features, Verda holding herself back from once again kneeling in deference.

"Good eve-" Verda began to say in greeting to the man she knew as he who had claimed the honor of ending Thanos, Stark passing by her without acknowledging her presence. Verda watched him until he rounded a corner in the corridor before she continued on to the library, reaching the entrance just as Rogers stood, placing the book he had been reading on the coffee table in front of the chair in which he'd sat. Verda took note of Rogers' troubled demeanor linking it with that of Stark's. 

"Is everything alright?" Verda asked uncertainly as she stood in the doorway, unsure if she should enter. Rogers, who had not noticed her arrival, looked from the book on the table in her direction.

"Yeah...Fury told me Stark carried some baggage...surprised he can get that suit off the ground with the size of the chip on his shoulder." Rogers replied.

"I know nothing of that. I know only that he is an honorable and selfless man." Verda responded. Rogers emitted a sarcastic snort.

"I'm not sure we're talking about the same Tony Stark. I don't know what Fury was thinking. A guy like that will have people turning on each other in no time. It's bad for morale. I think the only thing he fights for is himself. I don't see him as the kind to make the sacrifice play."

"You might be surprised."

"Maybe. Wouldn't be the first time. Were you looking for me?" Rogers asked.

"No. I couldn't sleep. I thought I would find something to read."

"I know the feeling. I was asleep for seventy years. Sometimes I'm afraid if I go to sleep...that maybe this is some kind of dream...that I'm still back there, in the ice...but then considering the state of the world I woke up to, that might not be such a bad thing. Before I went into the ice we were fighting a war, when I woke up, they told me we won, they didn't say what we lost."

"You've been given a second chance. However it came about, that is a gift that most people, Midgardian and Asgardian alike, never receive."

"That's one way to look at it. This is the first time I've ever teamed up with someone from another planet. In the stories that were written about your people, from what I can remember, Loki wasn't exactly someone you'd want to depend on. Coulson tells me we can trust you. Is he right?"

"Those stories are fiction. We share a common enemy as well as a common goal." Verda answered.

"That's the basis of most alliances. It's good enough for me. Think I'm gonna turn in." Rogers said, making his way to the door past Verda.

"Give Stark a chance to prove himself." Verda said.

"I give everyone a chance. That's all I wanted a long time ago."

Rogers left the library, exiting into the corridor. Verda walked to the bookshelves, perusing the offerings, pulling one from the shelf and opening it.

"Verda..." Verda turned towards the entrance, startled as she heard Loki's voice.

"Loki...I couldn't sleep. I didn't want to wake you."

"Come with me." Loki told her as he approached her, holding out his hand. Verda replaced the book back on the shelf before reaching out and taking it, Loki leading her from the library.

***************************

Banner and Pym stood in front of separate computer monitors as they watched data scroll down the screen. Pym appeared exhausted as he rubbed his eyes, Banner taking notice.

"Go get some sleep. I'm still running on Asian time. I'll be good for a few more hours. I'll come get you when I need some z's." Banner suggested.

"Yeah...ok." Pym said, stepping away from the monitor. As he did so, a trilling sound came from Banner's computer, the scrolling series of numbers halting, the last that had come up flashing green.

"What the…that can't be right." said Banner, typing hurriedly on the keyboard.

"We got a hit?" Pym asked, perking up.

"Yeah…"

***************************

Loki led Verda into the large cavernous room Loki had seen in his visions filled with an array of equipment, where who was to have been his future self had been transported via the Tesseract.

"Why did you bring me here?" Verda asked, looking about the room. Loki held out his hand, a large glowing blue cube, identical to the one Fury had shown them, materialized within it. "How did you…?" Verda asked in confusion. Understanding dawned on Verda as she began to step away. Loki reached out, grabbing her arm in an iron grip.

A stream of blinding, blue energy shot from the Tesseract towards the ceiling overhead and spread out like a swirling cloud. As Loki pulled Verda to him, she reached up, grabbing the gold chain of her necklace, wrenching it from her neck, breaking the clasp and dropping it to the floor before she and Loki vanished.

***************************

Loki, Rogers, and Stark gathered in the corridor outside the living quarters as a grating alarm sounded.

"Ok... who pulled the fire alarm? I'm looking at you, God of Mischief." Stark quipped.

"I had no part in this. Verda...where is she?" Loki asked.

"She was in the library. Said she couldn't sleep." Rogers answered. "I passed you after I left, you were headed that way. I figured that was where you were going." 

"It couldn't have been me. I only just awakened." Loki replied.

"No one's there now." Romanoff said as she and Barton approached.

"We have to go!" Banner called out as he and Pym rushed towards those gathered from the other end of the corridor. "They brought it back here, the Tesseract! They used it to create some sort of energy surge. This whole place is going to come down on top of us! Where's Fury?"

"Right here. I'll put out the order to get the hell out of Dodge. Go!" Fury said as he moved swiftly towards those gathered from down the corridor.

"I must find Verda!" Loki exclaimed, rushing down the corridor, leaving the others behind.

"Wait!" Rogers called out as he followed after him. 

Loki entered the room from his vision, a bright blue glowing mist of energy swirling on the ceiling. Staring up at it, a sense of deja-vu overtook him for a moment, before he looked away from it across the empty chamber, a glint of gold reflecting the blue light from above catching his eye. Hurrying to the spot, Loki looked down to see Verda's necklace. Reaching down, he picked it up, holding it in the palm of his hand, noticing the broken clasp before looking back up towards the ceiling.

"We have to go! Now!" Rogers called from across the room.

"He's taken her."

"At least you know she's not here! We're running out of time!" Rogers said insistently. Loki, closing his hand around the necklace, rushed after him.

***************************

Rogers, Loki, Banner and Pym piled into the back of a pick up truck as Stark, having donned his suit, lifted off from the ground, jetting towards the exit.

'Hold on. It could be a rough ride!" Barton said as he swiftly made his way to the driver's door, throwing it open, Romanoff entering the passenger side of the truck's cab. Barton started the engine, gunning it as he followed Stark, racing towards the exit of the garage and out under the clear night sky of the desert to safety, a row of vehicles following, Fury and Coulson in the car directly behind the truck.

Those riding in the bed of the truck watched in horror and wonder as the facility from which they'd just exited appeared to collapse in on itself, as if sucked into a sinkhole as they continued to race away. The ground itself began to give way, Barton pushing the truck's engine to its limits, as did the drivers of the vehicles trailing behind, the last vehicle in the convoy disappearing as the roadway vanished beneath it. Loki couldn't help but think of the trap he had as a child set for Thor in the forest, the one Verda had inadvertently stumbled upon.

Loki opened his hand, staring down at the pendant within it.

***************************

"Loki, please, listen to me. I know you don't remember me-" Verda pleaded as Loki dragged her towards a cell, one that looked far more like that of a dungeon than those on Asgard.

"I do...you're that sniveling brat with no sense of direction." Loki said as he practically hurled her into the cell, Verda losing her footing and falling to the stone floor as she heard the cell door slam closed behind her. Verda pushed herself up by her arms, rising and turning to face him.

"She's enchanted you. She's using you!"

"Well done." Verda heard Lorelei's voice say to Loki as she came into view in the dim light as she neared the cell. "Hello, sister...how does it feel to be the one locked away?"


	22. Chapter 22

Once confident they had reached safety, Barton pulled the truck off the side of the road into the desert, the various vehicles trailing him doing the same. Loki, Pym, Banner and Rogers climbed from the bed of the truck, Barton and Romanoff from the cab. Loki continued to clutch the necklace in his hand as vehicle doors opened, occupants exiting and looking off into the distance in the direction from which they had come. The imposing facility, which should have been discernible even in the dark of night was no more. A stunned silence fell over the scene as Stark descended next to Rogers.

"Still think they want that thing just to keep the milk cold for your Wheaties?" Stark asked.

Hill approached Fury as he climbed out of the passenger side of the vehicle, Coulson from the driver's side.

"Sir...we lost Shaw. He was behind me...then he wasn't. Not sure how many were with him." Hill said.

"Call in search and rescue. Get a head count, find out how many and who we're missing." Fury ordered Hill. Hill nodded, turning and moving off back towards her vehicle and the agents gathered around it.

Loki walked away from the truck and the refugees from the facility into the cool desert night, continuing on in silence before seating himself on the parched earth, overcome by the aggregation of events. Those gathered at the truck watched him for a moment before Natasha Romanoff stepped forward, Barton gripping her arm.

"Give him some time." Barton said quietly before releasing his hold on her. Ignoring his advice, Romanoff continued on, approaching Loki. As she reached him she stood to the side and slightly behind him, taking note of the necklace in his hand, the chain with the broken clasp wound around his fingers, the pendant against his palm, his eyes fixed upon it as if in a trance.

"Hey…." Romanoff said softly, Loki startling slightly.

"There's not many people who can sneak up on me." Loki said, turning his attention back to the necklace. Romanoff lowered herself to the ground to sit next to him.

"I won't say I know how you feel, because I don't. She's still alive or they wouldn't have bothered to take her. We'll find her."

"Do you know what it is to live your entire life in darkness?" Loki asked.

"I have some idea." Romanoff replied, recalling her upbringing, raised since childhood to be a cold hearted assassin.

"Then one day within that darkness suddenly there appears a light...but you've been in the darkness so long, it's part of you...you don't wish to grow accustomed to that light for fear it will go out...for fear of what you will become if it does."

"I was always told love made you weak, that it was for children. Then I met Clint and his family. I realized I'd been lied to. It doesn't make you weak, it makes you stronger...to have something to live for, to fight for other than yourself."

"Loki…?" Loki heard Verda's voice say. Loki quickly raised his head, looking away from the necklace, rising to his feet, scanning the darkness.

"Verda?" Loki replied in disbelief.

"What is it?" Romanoff asked, confused as she also rose from the ground.

"Loki...can you hear me? Are you alright?" Verda's voice asked. Loki realized the voice was within his own mind. He couldn't help but wonder if he was already descending into madness.

"Yes, I'm unharmed. We were able to escape. How are you speaking to me?" Loki answered with his thoughts.

"The necklace...I worried you wouldn't find it. I learned the spell from one of your books. I wasn't sure it would work. I'd never actually tried it."

"Where are you?"

"I don't know. I'm in a dungeon. I'm beginning to believe you derive some sort of pleasure from seeing me locked up." Verda joked. Loki couldn't help but smile despite the situation. "You must return to Asgard and remain there. If Heimdall can see me and tell you where I am, you mustn't come for me. She plans to kill you and replace you with your other she has brought here and disguise herself as me. No one would know the difference. She would have him press your claim to the throne of Jotunheim. They would be unable to resist. With Asgard's army as well as that of Jotunheim and the one she has been building here, they would conquer Midgard before moving on to the other realms and beyond. I'm sure she plans to eventually end your other as well. Without an heir she would take the throne."

"Why did she send your other to kill you?" asked Loki, puzzled.

"It wasn't me they intended to kill. It was Lorelei, her other. They set my other up to fail. We did exactly what she wanted us to do."

"You planned this?" Loki asked.

"Did you think yourself the only one able to devise a trap? I was sure he would come for me sooner or later. I knew he was here. I sensed his presence, the same way I knew you were not dead before. I don't know how or why. I didn't foresee the rest. I never meant to put anyone else in danger."

"You think to save him? He's mad...after Thanos' influence and Lorelei's enchantment, he will care nothing for you."

"I have to try."

"There's no need. You have already saved me." said Loki followed by a moment of silence, Verda making no response. "Verda...are you still there?"

"Yes...I must rest. The spell is draining. Return to Asgard. I will speak with you again soon. I love you."

"As I love you." Loki said quietly aloud as well as in his head.

"Who are you talking to?" Romanoff asked, looking at Loki, puzzled.

"I must return to Asgard." Loki told her as he walked away across the desert before coming to a stop, turning to face Romanoff, "Tell the others to be ready. Heimdall, bring me back!" Loki called out, the Bifrost soon descending, its light blinding in the darkness, its energy sending tremors through the ground under everyone's feet. Barton left the others to stand at Romanoff's side.

"Where'd he go?" Barton asked.

"Home. He said to tell everyone to be ready."

"Ready for what?"

***********************************

"My lady…" the tall man with the German accent, shaved head, and monocle said as Lorelei entered what appeared to be a sort of hybrid between a workshop and a lab. Various devices rested on stands atop tables around the room. "Everything is now operational. When they arrive we will be more than ready for them. Allow me to present a demonstration." Wolfgang Von Strucker said. "Oskar, can you join me for a moment?" Strucker called out. From an adjoining room, a young man appearing to be in his mid 20s entered, approaching Strucker and Lorelei and standing at attention.

"You require my assistance, Herr Strucker?" Oskar asked with eagerness.

"Yes. You are just the right height. Do you see that red X on the floor?" Strucker asked, pointing across the room as he picked up one of the devices from the table, what looked like a large chrome plated rifle with a wide barrel.. "All you need to do is stand there as I make a small adjustment to the sight." Oskar turned, crossing the room to stand upon the marker Strucker had indicated, turning to face Strucker and Lorelei. "Yes, that's it. It will only take a moment."

Strucker lifted the weapon, aiming it in Oskar's direction. A bright blue blast of energy shot from it, striking Oskar whose body instantly disintegrated.

"Very good." Lorelei said "Nothing can stand against us." Lorelei faced Strucker, putting one hand on his shoulder, the other caressing his face. "You have done well. You will be rewarded."

***********************************

Verda lay on the worn pallet on the cold stone floor of the cell. Hearing the sound of footsteps echoing off the walls, she opened her eyes, raising her head to see Loki approaching the door of the cell, a bowl in his hands. Stooping down, he slid it through a small opening at the bottom of the cell door before turning away.

"Wait…" Verda said as she sat up, raising herself to her feet. Loki stood with his back to her. "You know she will kill you eventually. You are but a means to an end. Without an heir, she will take the throne. She will enchant enough people that no one will resist her. There will no longer be any need for her to disguise herself."

"Be silent." Loki commanded.

"This isn't you. It isn't who you are."

"On the contrary, I have never been more myself. You know what I am. I am the monster parents tell their children about at night. It was I that murdered Thor. I could have killed him then and there but I wanted Odin to watch his golden boy rot before his eyes...or eye I should say."

"She enchanted our father to murder our mother and then to end his own life. She will do the same to you as she did to Haldor, to all the others. You mean nothing to her! She doesn't care about you, she doesn't love you...I do."

"If you wish to keep your tongue you will be silent!" Loki exclaimed angrily, wheeling around, reaching through the bars for Verda's throat, a dagger in his other hand. Verda's form vanished, her true self reappearing to the side of where her illusion had stood. Her arm shot through the bars, grabbing hold of the front of Loki's tunic, pulling him forcefully forward, his head violently striking the bars of the cell, the clanging, metallic sound of the collision echoing throughout the chamber as Loki collapsed to his knees. Verda fell to hers as well, again thrusting her hand out through the bars, placing her palm on his forehead.

***********************************

Loki, once again a child, sat under a towering tree surrounded by the dense forest of Asgard, his knees drawn up, his head resting against them, warm tears staining his cheeks as his body shook with sobs of anguish and frustration.

"I am worthy! I am! I was born to be a king!" Loki said angrily through clenched teeth as he raised his head from his knees, balling his fists and pounding the ground on either side of himself. "I'll show them! I'll show them all! They'll all kneel before me!" Loki dissolved into tears again, lowering his head to rest once again on his knees.

A shrill scream pierced the air from somewhere in the distance. Birds reacted to the shriek by taking flight, the sound of their wings flapping overhead. Loki raised his head, peering off in the direction from which he discerned the sound had originated.

"Help! Help me! Somebody! Is anyone there?! Please!" a young girl's voice desperately called out pleading as she sobbed.

Loki wiped the tears from his face with the back of his hand before standing, listening as the cries continued. Starting forward, he followed them.

"Help! Please! I'm down here!" The girl's voice begged as Loki neared the trap he had set some time ago and to his disappointment was never sprung by its intended victim, its existence having been long forgotten.

Loki reached the edge of the sinkhole, looking down into the pit. A girl, her hair a bright copper color, stared up at him in wide eyed fright, tears coursing down her cheeks.

"Your savior is here!" Loki said, turning from the pit, scanning his surroundings for anything he could use to reach her. Spying the long length of a dead branch that had fallen from a tree he raced to it, hefting it up and returning to the pit. "Take it!" he called, lowering the branch. Verda wrapped her hands around it.

"All right!" She called back. 

"Hold on as tight as you can!" 

Loki walked backwards as he also pulled the branch out of the pit, one hand over the other. The top of Verda's head emerged, her hair catching the light filtering through the canopy of branches above. Soon Verda lay atop the branch on the ground near the edge of the pit. Loki quickly dropped the branch, and stepped back in the direction of the hole offering his hand, Verda taking it and rising from the ground.

"Thank you!" Verda exclaimed as she sobbed, practically falling into Loki, wrapping her arms around him so tightly he almost had to struggle for breath. Loki held her, comforting her until her weeping subsided, transitioning into sniffles. "I thought no one would ever find me...I would die!"

"Are you injured?"

"I don't think so. I'm lost. Are you lost too? I heard you crying."

"I never cry. It must have been a Gjalla bird. They sound as if they're weeping when they call to each other. You're lost?"

"Yes. I came here to hide. My sister was cross with me. She said she was going to take an axe and cut off my head!"

"Surely she was only trying to frighten you. I know the forest well. Come with me. This way." Loki said, extending his hand. Verda took it, Loki leading her from the pit. Loki led Verda along a dirt path, the trees growing more sparse, until the two reached the edge of the forest. Verda looked towards the sky as it was just beginning to slightly darken. .

"It's growing late. I must get home. Thank you for saving me." Verda said, turning to Loki and embracing him once more. As she ended the embrace, Loki put his lips to her forehead. Verda smiled, blushing and looking down.

"Off with you, then." Loki said to her. Verda stepped away, following the path that led back to civilization, turning her head for a final glance over her shoulder at Loki as he watched her go.

***********************************

Loki, once again a grown man, placed his hand on his throbbing head as Verda removed hers, slowly opening his eyes, staring at Verda as his vision focused.

"I can't believe you fell for that." Verda said with a smirk. Loki rose to his feet, still holding his head with one hand, gripping a bar of the cell with the other, Verda standing along with him on the other side of the bars. Loki lowered his hand from his head, continuing to stare at Verda in silence before unlocking the cell door, swinging it open.

***********************************

Loki, Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun stood at the side of the throne, examining a holographic projection of what looked to be a large stone castle as the sound of footsteps echoed through the throne room. The four men turned their heads to see Sif approaching the throne, a cloaked figure following behind.

"Heimdall has located Verda. She's being held in a land called Sokovia within a fortress. I have ordered our warriors to prepare to go to Midgard and join our mortal allies when they arrive. Lady Sif, I grant you the honor of leading them." Loki said as Sif stepped aside.

"A wise choice." the figure said in a familiar voice. Loki, Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun stood stunned and speechless as the man removed the hood. Fandral standing beside Loki reached out, grabbing hold of Loki's arm, holding him upright as he swayed, on the verge of collapsing. Loki at last found his voice, willing himself to speak a single word. 

"Brother??"


	23. Chapter 23

"Where's Fury?" Barton said as he, Romanoff, Banner, and Rogers entered what appeared to be a war room of the helicarrier as they crossed the expanse of the Atlantic on the way to their destination. Stark turned from a screen airing a news broadcast at the sound of Barton's voice.

"Fury didn't call you here. I did." Stark informed them.

"What's this about?" Rogers asked suspiciously.

"Take a seat." Stark said. The others seated themselves around the table in the center of the room, looking at Stark expectantly. "Banner!" Stark called, tossing a small plastic pill bottle in Banner's direction, Banner catching and examining the bottle.

"What's this?" Banner asked curiously.

"Diazepam...Valium. What I'm about to show you is gonna piss you off. Not sure what the dose is to prevent turning into a giant green rage monster."

"I think I'm good." Banner responded, placing the bottle on the table. "If I couldn't handle getting pissed off, I wouldn't have gotten on this boat with you."

"Good point. As I think you all know, I was in the business of developing and manufacturing weapons for the U.S. government. It's a good gig if you can get it, got to travel the world...warzones, deserts mostly...met lots of uninteresting people, ended up with a chest full of shrapnel, taken hostage...good times. It paid the bills...actually Pepper did that...come to think of it she did about everything else...no, not that...that was one of the few things I could handle myself, though she did stick her hand in my chest port once..that was a trip, talk about dedication to your job...anyway, it allowed me to become the billionaire, philanthropist, playboy you all know and love….don't deny it, Romanoff, after that love letter you wrote about me to Fury…surprised you didn't draw little hearts all over it..." Stark said before noticing the impatient expressions on the faces of his audience, "I also learned a lot about how the system works. That's why I had a hard time believing that S.H.I.E.L.D. had suddenly become a card carrying member of Greenpeace. And as always, I was right." Stark picked up a remote from the table in front of him. The screen he stood next to switched from the muted news channel to what looked like a blueprint of a missile. "Is that what I think it is? Maybe I'm looking at it wrong...no, I'm pretty sure it's-"

"Phase 2." Fury's voice said from the doorway behind them. Fury entered, closing the door behind him. "It's true. Our intentions for the Tesseract aren't limited to clean energy, though that's a part of it. In fact, one of the most highly regarded astrophysicists in the world just signed on to help us with that...providing you're successful at getting it back. Ask yourselves, what good is developing weapons if there's nothing left to defend? Our Asgardian friends aren't our first visitors and I can guarantee you they won't be the last. Gather 'round kids, Papa Fury's about to tell you a story...."

****************************

Loki willed his legs to hold him upright, almost having to remind himself to breath so great was his shock, as he approached Thor. Both brothers once again stood in the presence of the other whose death he had witnessed and mourned. Loki reached both arms out, gripping Thor's shoulders as if he were testing the reality of he who once again lived and stood before him, examining him, looking into his eyes for any hint of fraud.

"How..." Loki said breathlessly in awe.

Thor grasped Loki's arms as well as he grinned through the tears collected in his eyes as he recalled the last time he had seen his brother, lying grey and lifeless upon the cold metal deck of the Statesman. Thor pulled Loki into an embrace, Loki returning the gesture.

"Remain-" Loki began, ending the embrace and again appearing to examine Thor in disbelief, addressing the Warriors Three and Sif, his voice quavering with emotion. He paused, composing himself before continuing, "Remain here. I will speak to my brother alone."

Loki led Thor through the throne room to the doorway that led to the king's study, Thor taking in the sight of the expansive, golden gilded room that in his time, along with the rest of his home world, was no more, memories flooding over him. Reaching the study, Loki entered, followed by Thor.

"I must say this isn't what I expected. No theater? No monuments?" Thor said jokingly.

"I've been king but a few days. I have other priorities at the moment. How is it you're here? I returned your body to the stars." Loki said as he continued to look at Thor in wonder.

"You have the Norn Stones and your Queen to thank. You chose well. She is a remarkable woman."

"Yes...she is. You would know." Loki replied, Thor's statement bringing to his visage an expression of desperate concern yet at the same time mixed with an altogether different sentiment.

"She has told you of us. I have done you no wrong, brother." Thor said as Loki made his way behind the desk and seated himself wearily, putting his elbows on the desktop, holding his head in his hands.

"How could I fault you for finding comfort in the arms that have provided the same for me in such times? I used the stones as well to view the future that was to be. The Loki you knew was a fool. I may now avoid those same mistakes, but I fear I will make new ones."

"You will, as did father and his father before him."

"I can't afford to make them now...not with her life and Asgard, the realms, the entire universe at risk. How did our father avoid going mad?"

"I once said that you understood rule as I never will. I believed it then as I believe it now. All kings must endure their trial by fire. You are enduring your own far earlier than most. She did not bring me here because she believes you to be unequal to the task. Your duty as king is to safeguard the throne. I will return her to you...on one condition."

"What's that?" Loki asked curiously, lifting his head.

"You must make a statue of me." Thor grinned.

"You will have the biggest statue in the nine realms. I will write a play as well. It's been some time since I put pen to paper. I once enjoyed it. It will be performed throughout the realms in commemoration of you." Loki said as he stood, walking around the desk to stand once again before Thor.

"I jest, brother. I have no need of either statues or dramatic productions." 

"You shall have both regardless...as well as my eternal gratitude." Loki replied.

"That is as much as I require."

"I know after all that I have done...all I would have done….please...bring her back to me." Loki said, barely managing to hold his composure.

"You once rejected such sentiment." Thor replied.

"I am not the man you once knew, much has altered...and in turn altered me."

"No, brother, this is the man I always knew you were."

****************************

"Thanos' pathetic excuse for an army had failed me. I had been attacked by that dull creature, all was lost...then she was there, offering me a second chance." Loki told Verda as they stood outside the cell.

"How was she able to obtain the means to travel through time? I was told it was to be destroyed." asked Verda.

"She had been rendered dust. After she had been brought back, she learned of how Stark had discovered the secret. She enchanted Banner to give to her the knowledge to build another mechanism. He told her that Thor had taken the remaining component necessary to operate it to New Asgard. Afterwards, she erased his memory of their meeting knowing she might still have need of him and so he could tell no one of her plans. Disguising herself as a mortal she went to New Asgard and learned of your survival and of your frequent visits to my brother. Knowing your feelings for me, she used them to her advantage." Loki explained. "It was all quite ingenious, really. I'm not certain that I myself could have devised such a scheme."

"Don't sell yourself short." Verda said, "You faked your death, enchanted Odin to forget his identity, left him in a home for the care of the elderly here on Midgard, disguised yourself as your father and usurped the throne."

"I did?" Loki asked as he grinned in satisfaction at the idea that he had been successful at such an endeavor.

The sound of footsteps reached them from the stone stairway. Verda quickly stepped back in the cell, Loki quietly closing the cell door. Verda looked down at the bowl of what appeared to be stew Loki had previously left on the floor.

Lorelei emerged from the stairwell, turning to view Loki standing in front of the closed cell door, Verda within on the other side, Loki's arm reaching between the bars, his fist closed around her throat, the contents of the bowl running down the front of his tunic. 

"Release her." Lorelei commanded. Loki complied, dropping his arm to his side. Loki stepped aside as Lorelei approached the cell, glancing at the mess staining the front of Loki's clothing. "I see you are as ungrateful as ever, sister." Lorelei said, turning to Loki, unfastening his tunic and removing it, dropping it to the floor, leaving Loki in the dark green shirt he wore beneath it. Lorelei pressed herself against him, caressing his cheek, "I never understood what it was you saw in him, but now I find myself searching for any excuse to reward him. He has taught me so much...not only the secrets of the Tesseract but my illusionary skills were once quite mediocre, I rarely used them...but now…" Verda watched as Lorelei's form changed to a mirror image of herself. "If you'll excuse me, I've been informed my savior has arrived. I must go to meet him. It's a pity I only need one of you."

Loki groaned as Lorelei drove the dagger she materialized in her hand into his gut before pushing him away from her with her free hand, sending him flying against the wall.

"No! Why?! You need him!" Verda cried as Lorelei made her way to the stairway.

"Not anymore." Lorelei said as she disappeared from view, ascending the stairs.

As soon as Lorelei's footsteps could no longer be heard, Verda materialized the key to the cell in her hand. Hooking her arm through the bars, she placed it in the lock, throwing the door open and rushing to Loki who lay crumpled on the floor, moving him as gently as she could onto his back, the front of his shirt stained red by the blood from his wound.

"Loki…" Verda said, pressing a hand to the wound in his abdomen.

"Go…you must stop her. There's nothing to be done for me. I was a fool. I deserve this." Loki said, his skin growing pale and gray, his voice breathless and pained.

"I'm not leaving you."

"I'm sorry...for Thor...for all of it..." Loki raised his blood stained hand from his wound to Verda's cheek. 

"It was my fault. If I'd not listened to her, if I had not thought so little of myself, if I'd not been so afraid..."

"I didn't think it had worked…"

"You didn't think what had worked?"

" A minor spell...only so you would remember me…someone would know..." 

"The kiss...you enchanted me?" Verda asked in surprise.

"You must go...even if my essence joins with his, if she subverts him to her will, you will lose us. She will hunt you down. There will be no where in the universe you will be safe." Verda held out her hand, the bag containing the Norn stones materializing within it. Hurriedly removing them from the bag and setting it quickly aside, she moved Loki's hand from her cheek and placed the stones in it, closing it around them.

"Take them. You were to use them for the same purpose in the future. Remember how I told you that you faked your death? You used their energy to keep yourself alive so that your body would have time to heal itself."

"The blade was cursed...it will make no difference." Loki said, hopelessly.

"That's where I come in. If it doesn't work at least I will know I tried. Sometimes it is the things we do not do that affect us far more than the things we do."

"You could die..."

"Then I die with you as I once wished to do." Verda said before leaning down, placing her lips in the same spot on his forehead as he had once placed his on her own. "You do not die this day." she told Loki before placing her hand on his forehead, closing her eyes.

****************************

"Loki?" Verda's voice said within Loki's mind as he stood inside Himinbjorg alongside Sif, having just witnessed Thor's departure, Asgard's warriors awaiting the call to action on the Rainbow Bridge.

"Verda! Are you alright?" Loki asked with his thoughts.

"Yes...where are you?"

"I'm with Heimdall and Sif in Himinbjorg. Thor has just taken the Bifrost to Midgard to find and free you. Our warriors await our mortal allies and word of your rescue. I won't send them until I know that you're safe."

"I was able to break her hold over him. He freed me but she wounded him. He's dying. I'm with him now. I'm trying to save him. She has disguised herself as me. She knows he has arrived. She believes he is you. She goes now to meet him! You must warn him!" Verda said anxiously.

"Leave him! Get out of there! Heimdall will send the Bifrost for you!"

"I would not leave you to die alone."

"He is not me!" Loki exclaimed in frustration in his head. Sif, happening to glance at him in that moment, noticed the matching expression of displeasure and anxiety on his face though he stood silent.

"Loki....my king...what is it? What's wrong?" Sif asked, Loki failing to acknowledge her question as he continued to converse mentally with Verda.

"He is you!" Verda insisted.

"Must I command you as your king?" Loki responded in desperation.

"What will you do if I disobey? Lock me away again? You must trust me!"

"I do. I trust you with my life...with your own is another story."

"Get word to Thor! I must go now." Verda said, Loki sensing the connection between them closing before quickly turning to Sif, speaking to her aloud.

"The time has come to exact your vengeance."


	24. Chapter 24

The rumbling of the engine of a motorcycle reverberated through the forest surrounding the stronghold in the mountains of Sokovia, its rider, clad in white combat gear and a mask over his face slowing to a stop, peering off into the mass of trees on one side of the road then the other. A dark colored vehicle similar to a Humvee, obviously designed for military purposes, pulled up behind him, a similarly uniformed figure driving, another in the passenger seat. The man on the motorcycle made a hand signal to the driver of the vehicle, preparing to continue down the road when an arrow suddenly pierced his throat , the sound of it cutting through the air reaching him just a split second before, giving him no time to react. He and the motorcycle fell sideways onto the road.

The occupants of the vehicle had little more opportunity to put up a defense as the next arrow found its mark, the driver's body limply slumping as he was pinned through the heart to the driver's seat. The passenger began to bail out of the vehicle as a large, round, metal object painted in concentric circles of red and white came whizzing through the air, making contact with his head, sending him sprawling onto the shoulder of the road.

Barton and Rogers, Rogers now clad in an updated version of his old uniform that Coulson had been sure to boast he had a hand in designing upon presenting it to him, moved from their hiding places behind two trees just within the border of the forest, cautiously approaching the vehicles and the downed men. Rogers headed in the direction of the motorcycle.

"Hey, why do you get the bike?" Barton asked.

"I'm the oldest." Rogers replied with a smile, lifting the motorcycle from the road and climbing on, restarting its engine. Barton, shaking his head, made his way around the vehicle, approaching the driver's side, opening the door and removing his arrow from the deceased driver, tossing his body out onto the road.

*****************************

"You don't have to do this, you know." Romanoff said to Banner who appeared reticent and nervous as both lay prone behind the trunk of a downed tree, Romanoff peering through a pair of binoculars. Through them she could see more clearly the four soldiers in white that stood atop the guard tower in the distance.

"I'm safer when I'm the other guy. When we get in there there'd better not be some little guy in a mushroom hat telling us the princess is in another castle." Banner joked.

"They're all yours." Romanoff told Banner. Banner rose from behind the log taking a deep breath and exhaling.

"Wish me luck."

"I don't think you're the one that's going to need it." Romanoff said as Banner stepped over the log, transitioning into the hulking green beast. With a monstrous roar he took off at a run towards the guard tower, the combatants manning it turning swiftly in the direction of the sound. .

*****************************

"What are we looking at Jarvis?" Stark asked as he soared over the landscape.

"There are eight bunkers positioned throughout the surrounding forest along with five watchtowers. The structure itself is shielded by a type of energy I am unable to identify." the calm voice of Stark's AI assistant informed him.

"Looks like we've got the right place. Find me a weak spot in that shield." Stark ordered Jarvis before addressing the other members of the team, "We want to keep the action away from the city. When things start rockin', we want to draw them north, keep their backs to it." Stark then noticed the hordes of armed figures in white pouring from out of the stronghold's gate towards the forest as if in a mad frenzy. "Mr. Mischief did say he was sending an army, right?"

*****************************

The wounded Loki clutched the stones Verda had placed in his hand, willing their combined energy to flow through him. Even so, he could sense his mind drifting, his consciousness fading. His body, that had felt increasingly heavy as if gravity had been dialed up, so heavy he could no longer even hold his eyelids open, now began to feel lighter, as if he were floating in a pool or in the void of space.

"It's useless...go…" Loki told Verda, fighting to get the words out, his voice barely audible. An icy chill, like that he had experienced when he had put his hands onto the Casket of Ancient Winters in Odin's vault, was spreading over his body. Verda did not respond as she continued to hold her palm against his forehead, deep in concentration, though Loki could now no longer sense her touch, his fading mind losing its awareness.

Loki's senses suddenly returned in a rush as he felt as if he had plummeted through the floor, what appeared to be patterns of stars streaking past in his vision behind his closed eyelids. It recalled to his mind what he had experienced after he had dropped into the void of space from the Rainbow Bridge. He had heard it said in the past that when one dies, their life flashes before their eyes, or at least the highlight reel. Was that what he was now experiencing he wondered?

The stars faded, all again going black as the falling sensation ceased. Realizing that his strength had returned, his body once more imbued and flowing with life, he opened his eyes to see the stars were now above him, billions of them, as if he were lying under the night sky. Glancing to his left and right, he saw a rocky landscape, seemingly devoid of any life. Slowly setting up, his head spinning a bit, he closed his eyes once again, taking a few deep, slow breaths before opening them, cautiously rising to his feet, slightly stumbling.

As his mind cleared, Loki realized, much to his horror, that he recognized the lifeless rock upon which he now found himself, though unsure whether it was real or an illusion. It seemed to him to be real enough, the stony ground solid beneath his feet. Sensing that he wasn't alone, a presence behind him, he turned, fearful that who stood there was a being he had no desire to ever again lay eyes upon as each time Loki had previously encountered his grotesque, partially masked and obscured visage, had heard his raspy voice, it had sent a cold shudder down Loki's spine. He was surprised and relieved to see another whose appearance was far more pleasant.

"Are you a servant of Thanos?" Loki asked the woman with the long white hair that extended almost to her feet, her skin the lightest shade of ivory, the color of her eyelashes matching that of her hair.

"No, I am Skula."

"The Norn, you are one of the three sisters?"

"Yes, it is I."

"Why have you brought me to this place?"

"You brought yourself here." Skula stated, Loki once again looking over the dreary landscape.

"I suppose I did." Loki said, recalling all that had passed, the choices he had made over his lifetime that had led him to that place originally and up to the current moment. "You have come to herald my fate? Am I dead?" Loki asked.

"Not in this universe. There are many. Yet in each it holds true that you are a man of contradictions, capable of the greatest depths of love and hate, loyalty and betrayal in equal measure. I knew upon your birth that you would be unique, that you would follow a singular path. We do not dictate fate, we merely weave it from the choices you and others make. The time has now come for you to make another."

*****************************

Thor prepared to hurl Stormbreaker at the masked soldier in white that sprinted towards him, spraying bullets in his direction, but before he could release the axe, the deadly accurate aim of Barton's arrow felled him. Thor, continuing to hold his weapon defensively as he looked to his right, watched Barton exit his commandeered vehicle and enter the small clearing in the forest.

"Barton, my old friend!" Thor called in greeting as Barton went to retrieve his arrow, Barton turning and raising his bow, another arrow already notched. Thor was puzzled for a moment at Barton's reaction before recalling that in this timeline, the two had never met.

"Do I know you?" Barton asked as he studied the God of Thunder before lowering his bow. "You're a friendly? Asgardian?"

"Yes…" Thor answered, not exactly sure how to explain his presence to the archer, as he was known to be dead, as Barton approached him.

"Thought Loki was sending an army. After what Stark said is coming, I think we're gonna need more than Paul Bunyon." Barton said, eyeing the axe in Thor's grip. Thor couldn't help but recognize the irony of Barton's statement. In the universe from which he originated it had been Barton whose mind had fallen under Loki's control that had assisted Loki in bringing another very different army to Earth.

"They await word of Verda's rescue which is why I have-"

"Thor?!" both Barton and Thor heard Verda's voice speak in a tone of shock as both men turned in the direction from which it had originated. Verda stood in the forest a few yards away. "But you're….where's Loki?"

**********************************

Loki once again raised his eyelids, blinking a few times as everything appeared a dark blur for a few moments before his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the dungeon. Verda removed her hand from his forehead before he raised himself to a sitting position and looked down at his abdomen, raising his bloody shirt and placing his hand in the location of the wound of which there was now no evidence. He then looked up from his abdomen to Verda. She smiled wordlessly before he placed a hand on either side of her head, kissing her forehead in enthusiastic gratitude.

As he ended the kiss, he realized how pale she appeared to be, her eyes sunken, the area under both dark as if she hadn't slept for a week.

"I told you...you would not…" Verda said weakly, wearily, her voice fading out as her eyes closed, her body slumping forward, Loki catching her and laying her gently on the floor.

"Verda? Verda!" Loki said, attempting to rouse her without success. Checking the side of her neck for a pulse, he discerned one, though it was troublingly weak. He reached out for the leather bag, placing the stones in his hand back into it and magically stowed it away before he stood, hoisting her limp body in his arms.

**********************************

The ground of the forest trembled to the rear of Thor and Barton as the Bifrost descended upon it, Sif running out of it towards the men.

"Thor!" she called out. "I am to-." Sif stopped as she reached the two men upon noticing Verda's form. "She is not Verda. You must go...you must not be anywhere where you can hear her voice." Sif quietly told Thor and Barton. Barton tapped Thor on the arm before gesturing for him to follow, Thor hesitating. "Go. I will deal with her." Sif said to Thor, he finally turning to follow Barton as Sif stepped confidently towards Lorelei, sword in hand.

"Sif…" Lorelei, now convinced the jig was up, transformed back into her own form, producing her own sword. "You must give my regards to Haldor."

"She's on the field." Barton said as he and Thor made their way to the vehicle parked by the side of the road, communicating with the others.

"She's not the only one!" Rogers said as he skidded the motorcycle to a stop, a throng of white clad soldiers maniacally running towards him. He looked to his right and left, a sea of white entering the forest. Turning the motorcycle around he raced away from the advancing hoard.

Romanoff listened to the conversation as she witnessed Hulk demolishing a bunker, tossing occupants against trees and grabbing others by their legs, smashing them repeatedly against the ground. Emitting a deafening roar, Hulk bounded off, Romanoff running behind.

"Hey! Wait up!" she called out as she attempted in vain to catch up to him. 

*********************************

Loki emerged from the empty bunker in the forest which served as a secret entrance and exit of the tunnel that connected with the underground portion of the stronghold, Verda held in his arms. 

Loki contemplated what Skula had told him of fate. What fate would be woven based on the choice he was about to make? Skula had offered him the choice to die and to join with his other in this timeline or to be returned to the one from whence he had come. It had always been in his nature to seek escape...to escape his father's reprimands, the expectations of him and of others, to escape the consequences of his mistakes and misdeeds, to escape the taunts he had endured as a boy, to escape Thor's shadow, the comparisons to his brother, to escape the dark thoughts that had always plagued him regarding himself, even long before he knew the truth of his origin. His presence in this timeline had been to escape what he had known was soon to come to pass in his own. His means of escape had taken many forms, not always, perhaps even not the majority of the time, a physical one as it had been that day in the forest. Yet he had declined both offers. He knew well as he looked from Verda towards the sky he could now be enjoying his last moments of freedom. 

*********************************

"Heimdall, bring us home."

Loki, standing near Heimdall in Himinbjorg, looked over at Asgard's gatekeeper as he heard the sound of his own voice. Heimdall turned his head, his eyes meeting his king's. Loki nodded.

Loki watched as his double, Verda in his arms, appearing limp and lifeless, emerged from the rainbow of blinding light. Loki, upon seeing Verda's state, rushed forward.

"I had been wounded by Lorelei. She dispelled the curse. I attempted to dissuade her, I warned her it could cost her her life, but she would not be moved." Loki told himself as he transferred Verda from his arms to that of his doppelganger.

Loki gestured with his head for one of the einherjar that had accompanied him to Himinbjorg that now stood to the rear of the chamber to approach.

"Take him to the dungeon." Loki told the armored guard.

"Wait…" Loki's other said as he held out his hand. The einherjar who had been reaching for a pair of shackles changed tact, drawing his sword. Within Loki's outstretched palm, the leather pouch containing the Norn Stones appeared. Heimdall stepped forward as Loki held Verda, taking the pouch from him. Loki nodded to the einherjar who placed his sword back into its sheath and shackled Loki's other, leading him towards the entrance. The warriors waiting there began to make a path at the same time as those farther back also began to make one.

"My son…"

Both Lokis stood in silence as Odin entered Himinbjorg, Frigga following behind him. The einherjar, his hand closed around Loki's bicep, bowed his head before leading Loki towards the exit and the path the warriors had opened between them.

"Father...mother..." Loki's other restrained by the shackles said as he passed Odin and Frigga, escorted by the einherjar. Frigga continued to watch Loki's other as he was led away with a sorrowful expression. Odin approached Loki as he gazed forlornly down at Verda's body in his arms.

"She said she would give her life..." 

"She has drained her own life force. She must rest as I have done." Odin said, motioning for the other einherjar present to approach. "I will watch over her." Loki transferred Verda into the arms of the einherjar. "Go, my son."

"I cannot. My duty is here. I must safeguard the throne."

"The throne is safe enough. Your place is by the side of your warriors defending it and Asgard."

"If I do not return?" Loki asked Odin, recalling Verda had asked the same question of him.

"She has proven herself more than worthy."

"She does not wish it." Loki told him.

"No one who is truly worthy does." Odin told him. Odin turned from Loki, the einherjar bearing Verda's body following behind him. Frigga approached Loki.

"I will remain here and await your return."

Loki looked at his mother, at her tired, careworn face.

"No, you must rest as well."

"I cannot and will not until she who took your brother's life is no more."

Loki embraced Frigga before stepping away from her, gesturing for the warriors assembled on the Rainbow Bridge to follow him. As they did so, he stepped up to the Bifrost with a determined expression, preparing and steadying himself, producing a dagger in each hand, tossing them and catching them as Heimdall activated the Bifrost.

"Nor shall we mourn but rejoice for those who have died the glorious death..."


	25. Chapter 25

"It's over, Lorelei. Surrender."

"Why would I do that? I've bested you before." Lorelei replied to Sif's command.

"You will not do so again. Unlike you I don't repeat the same mistakes."

"No, you make new ones." Lorelei sneered as Sif lunged at Lorelei with her sword. Each woman skillfully deflected the blows of the other's sword with her own as they battled over the forested ground. "Would you like to hear the last words of your dear Haldor before I ran him through? Even in his last moments he was completely devoted to me." Lorelei taunted Sif as they battled. "Poor Sif, never to have what your heart most desires, while I can have any man I choose."

"They are but slaves."

"Is that not what 'love' is? Slavery? You either become a slave to them or to the idea of them, as you yourself have been for so long." Lorelei said scornfully. "You and my sister have much in common."

"I take that as a compliment." Sif said, landing a kick to Lorelei's midsection, sending her hurtling against a tree, Lorelei recovering just as Sif rushed at her, dodging her.

"It is a compliment to be compared to my pitiful, pathetic sister who spent her life pining for one so insignificant and worthless? At least you have better taste. I never understood how the same loins who brought forth one such as Thor could also create such a sorry excuse for a prince. It was no surprise to me to learn of his true heritage. When I take the throne, at least Asgard will again be ruled by an Asgardian."

"What are you talking about?" Sif asked, as the two women circled each other.

"He has not told you? You do not yet know before who...or what...you now bend your knee, whose orders, like a dog, you follow?"

*************************************

The battle commenced among the trees as those Fury had brought together along with the troops he had sent in that had arrived to back them were joined by Asgard's warriors, Thor in disbelief as he witnessed Loki at the head of Asgard's army, rushing to his side to join him amid the fighting.

"Brother! What are you doing here?" Thor asked as the battle raged, both Thor and Loki downing foes rushing upon them, Loki with his daggers, Thor with Stormbreaker.

"Did you think I would let you once again have all the glory? Verda has been returned to Asgard. Father has awakened from his slumber." Loki answered as he felled another attacker.

"If you were to fall..."

"I believe my queen brought you here to ensure that doesn't happen." Loki said as he and Thor each dispatched another masked soldier in white, both brothers observing the frenzy of the oncoming soldiers.

"They fight like Berserkers!" exclaimed Thor as he swung Stormbreaker, taking down more attackers.

"They are." Loki said, recalling that along with the Tesseract, Lorelei had also gained possession of the Berserker Staff from Randolph. Deciding that he needed a more formidable weapon than his daggers, Loki stowed them away, producing Mjolnir in his hand, quickly sending it flying into the oncoming throng, catching it as it returned to him.

"Not bad...lower your grip...give it a bit more of a twist on the release…." advised Thor. "Here...I'll show you." Thor said, holding Stormbreaker out to Loki and reaching for Mjolnir. Loki took Stormbreaker, eyeing Thor as he handed Mjolnir over. "Like this..." said Thor as he hurled Mjolnir into the ranks of the oncoming army, the hammer cutting a swath through them. "It's all in the wrist." Loki reached out, intercepting Mjolnir upon its return, as he handed Stormbreaker back to Thor.

"All you had to do was ask." Loki said knowing full well Thor's motivation was far more nostalgia for Mjolnir, the chance to wield it once again than giving Loki instruction.

As the battle continued to rage, Loki and Thor repeatedly sent their respective weapons at their opponents, more filling the gaps that were left by those slain. Loki, taking stock of the situation, saw the bodies of fallen Asgardians and S.H.I.E.L.D. troops littering the field, the members of the team of which he was a part continuing to battle among the living and the dead. Banner's beast roared as Lorelei's soldiers assailed him, hanging from his massive arms as he flung them off and away from him, Stark using every weapon in his suit's arsenal. Barton, who had long since used his last arrow had taken up a rifle from a slain soldier.

Suddenly, a blue bolt of energy shot from the front line of the oncoming enemy, followed by another farther down the line, striking an Asgardian and a S.H.I.E.L.D fighter, both instantly disintegrating, leaving nothing behind. Loki and Thor, horrified, witnessed another blast of blue that had the same effect on a line of Asgardian warriors not far from their position.

"What the hell was that?!" Barton exclaimed in awe of what he had just seen.

"They've harnessed the Tesseract's power to make weapons." Loki explained.

"We can't fight that! We're barely holding our own against them now!" Barton replied.

"The time has come." Loki said aloud more to himself than to Thor or Barton. Loki moved forward just as the others on his side of the fray began to fall back.

"Loki! Are you mad?!" Thor cried.

Mjolnir disappeared from Loki's grip as he held out both hands, the Casket of Ancient Winters materializing in them. The hue of Loki's skin began to change to match its sapphire glow. A blast like the wind of a winter storm erupted from the Casket, the enemy combatants before Loki within its range finding themselves frozen in place like statues, encased in ice.

*************************************

"You lie!" Sif exclaimed in response to Lorelei's revelation of Loki's origin, moving in on Lorelei for another attack.

"You've always known he was different. Will you allow a frost giant to sit on Asgard's throne? The time has come for us to rise up. Too long have men held power. How much harder did you have to fight to prove yourself? Before Frigga, before Thor, Odin had a daughter. He banished her to Hel, locked her away, erased her from our history, her only crime being that she dared have the ambition to claim her birthright and to rule! Had she been a son, do you believe he would have done the same? He would introduce the rejected son of Laufey, our enemy, into our midst, perpetrate a fraud, set him on the throne but not his own flesh and blood!" Sif stood shocked and bewildered upon hearing Lorelei's words. "Why do you believe Thor did not return your affection? Could it be because you refused to put down your sword, don a pretty gown and play the part, to be a mere ornament? You and the few others like you are tolerated only because you do as you are told. I refused to submit, to be ruled by them. Instead I ruled them! It struck such fear into Odin that he locked me away as well."

"You are a murderer. You tried to conquer the realms." Sif responded.

"Just as Odin once did! He drowned entire civilizations in blood! He is the one that should have been locked away! I wished to unite the realms under one rule. Odin agreed to allow the people of Midgard to go their own way and what has become of it?" Lorelei paused, gauging Sif's reaction before she continued, "Haldor was a fool. He was no different from the others. He would not have made you happy. Throw off the shackles they have placed on you and free yourself. Join me...I will place you at the head of my army. We women must stick together..."

"Yes, we certainly must…." Frigga's voice said from behind Lorelei. "For my son!" Frigga ran Lorelei through with her sword before withdrawing it. Lorelei's mouth gaped, her eyes wide with shock as she stood frozen in place, her sword dropping from her hand to the forest floor. Frigga stepped back, her and Sif's eyes meeting, an unspoken message passing between them.

"For Haldor and Thor!" Sif cried as she closed the distance between herself and Lorelei, swinging her sword, detaching Lorelei's head from her body, sending it flying against a nearby tree. Lorelei's decapitated body slumped to the ground like a heavy sack.

Sif spat on Lorelei's corpse, staring down at it in silence for a few moments as she realized it was over. Lorelei, as she had fantasized about for centuries, lay dead at her feet. Sif looked up at Frigga, struggling to hold back her emotions and maintain her warrior stoicism, the endeavor taking every ounce of her strength, her body slightly quivering as if she were straining every muscle with the effort. It had taken her much time after her emotional display following Thor's death to overcome the shame she had felt at losing her usual tough as nails composure, especially in front of Loki, and she had vowed no matter what the circumstance to never allow such a thing to happen again. Even Haldor's death had not led her to such a public exhibition of her sorrow.

Frigga had no such compulsion, allowing her tears to flow freely.

"It is not a weakness. It's a strength." Frigga counseled Sif, her words breaking down Sif's defenses, she bursting into sobs as Frigga held her arms out, Sif dropping her sword and rushing into them.

*************************************

Asgard's remaining warriors and S.H.I.E.L.D. troops surged ahead like a wave, attacking the frozen masked soldiers before them and the few that had been left unfrozen as Loki stood holding the Casket in his hands.

"This must bring back memories." Stark teased Rogers. "Looks like things have cooled off around here. We have a mission to complete. Hold on to your tights, Cap." Stark said grabbing hold of Rogers and lifting off.

It had taken some time for Sif to traverse the forest. Warriors hacked and slashed at the frozen soldiers of what had once been Lorelei's army as she approached. Her pace slowed as her eyes fell on Loki, still holding the Casket of Ancient Winters in his hands. She recognized the relic but did not immediately realize who it was that wielded it.

"Loki?" Sif said aghast as she neared him. Loki turned his head to look at her with eyes as red as Lorelei's blood she had recently spilled, stopping her in her tracks. "It's true…"

"Yes…"Loki replied. "Verda once said I must accept myself for who I am. I hope that you will find it within you to do the same." Loki looked back over the field as the battle reached its conclusion, the Casket vanishing from his hands, his form returning to the one with which Sif was familiar.

"Lorelei is dead." Sif informed Loki, not disclosing to him Frigga's part in the sorceress' demise, she having asked Sif not to do so, the second time she had been asked by a queen to keep a secret from her king. "It's over."

"Not yet…" Loki said peering past the warriors in the direction of the stronghold.

*************************************

"Ready? On three...one-" Stark said, not counting any farther before throwing Rogers at the tall, gothic window, Rogers quickly moving his shield up in front of him. Rogers landed on his feet on the stone floor of the workshop/lab, quickly straightening, finding himself face to face with a roomful of masked men. He sent his shield flying, bouncing off each of them before returning to him. Stark landed beside Rogers, taking out the few left standing with blasts from the palms of his suit. Both men stepped forward, scanning the room for any sign of the Tesseract.

"I don't see it. They must have it hidden somewhere." Rogers said.

"You think?" Stark replied sarcastically. "While we're here…" he said to Rogers as he examined the computer monitors, setting a device down in front of them, "Jarvis...I want it all…while you're at it look for an energy signature identical to what was powering that shield."

"One level down. I'm unable to locate an access, though on the wall to your left, I'm reading steel reinforcement and an air current." Jarvis answered.

"Wish Jarvis would have been around when I was a kid. Would have made finding where mom hid my Christmas presents a lot easier. Guess there wasn't a point in trying to sneak a peek back in your day. You got a penny and a tin cup."

"I'm not that old." Rogers replied.

Stark neared the area of the wall Jarvis had indicated, Rogers trailing behind him, keeping watch behind them. Stark placed his hands flat on the stone wall.

"Open sesame...says me!" Stark said, the wall moving back, revealing the landing of a stairway, both men entering and beginning to descend it.

"Gentlemen…" Strucker greeted them, standing beside a table upon which the Tesseract sat on a pedestal, aiming a large barreled chrome plated rifle in their direction. Stark quickly lifted off from the stairway, Rogers hurling his shield as Strucker fired the weapon, Rogers diving from the stairway, narrowly avoiding its beam. As the blue streak of energy hit the stone steps where Rogers had stood, those struck by it disintegrated leaving a gap in the stairway. The shield knocked the weapon from Strucker's hands at the same time that Stark hit him with a blast from his palms. Strucker flying back from the table to sprawl on the floor where he lay motionless. Rogers swiftly climbed to his feet, collecting his shield and rushed to the table, retrieving the Tesseract.

"The cat's back in the bag." Rogers said, notifying the others through their earpieces. Stark landed near Strucker who lay on his back, Rogers walking up behind him, both looking down at the fallen man.

"Wolfgang Von Strucker. He's with S.H.I.E.L.D. I thought-" Stark began as Strucker opened his eyes and appeared to bite down on something in his mouth.

"Hail Hydra…." Strucker said before his body began to convulse.

*************************************

Loki entered the vault beneath the palace on Asgard. Traversing past the various relics, he reached the empty pedestal. Holding his hands out, he materialized the Casket of Ancient Winters reverting to his Jotun form as he held it. Placing it back on the pedestal and removing his hands from it, he regained his Asgardian appearance. Turning from it he made his way past other relics to another empty pedestal. Holding out one hand, the Tesseract appeared within it.

Loki stared at the relic, knowing from his visions what was contained within it and all it was to have led to had events not been altered. He recalled what Rogers had told him of his experiences with it before he went into the ice after he had handed it over to Loki, disobeying the order to return it to the possession of S.H.I.E.L.D. Loki knew it could not remain on Asgard just as Rogers had known it could not remain on Earth. Turning his back on it, he walked away.

*************************************

It had been days since Verda had been placed in a bed in an unoccupied chamber near that of her and Loki's own. Odin, as he had assured Loki he would, continued to sit vigil as Loki had attended to his duties as Asgard's king, returning to her side whenever he had a free moment, which he found were few. There was one task however that superseded his responsibilities, at least in Loki's estimation, and he had only just returned from completing it.

Odin raised his head from the book in his hands as Loki entered the bedchamber, a small, flat box in his hand, hoping against hope that during his absence perhaps she had at last awakened, his heart heavy as he quickly concluded his wish had not been granted.

"There's been no change?" Loki asked, likely for the hundredth time over the previous days.

"No." Odin answered, looking from Verda to Loki and the despair evident in his expression as he came to stand by the bed. "Do not give up hope."

"You have never rested so long."

"She drained herself nearly to the point of death. As you know, to remove a curse one has not placed and of which one does not have exact knowledge of is a perilous undertaking. I would have done the same for your brother but I knew I had not the strength at the time. Though not as rich as I in years, nor does your mother any longer. It would have cost us our lives and changed nothing." Odin replied, guilt evident in the tone of his voice.

Loki now realized why Odin had been absent from Thor's side as he lay on his deathbed and why he had made no appearance in the throne room as his brother's body had lain in state. It was not a cold heart or sorrow that had kept him away. Loki was himself now drowning in the same emotion. Had he not allowed guilt, a sentiment he had never had a great deal of trouble shaking off in the past, to move him to release her from the cell, had he not allowed her out of his sight, had he realized her intentions earlier…

Loki sat himself on the edge of the bed, opening the box. Within lay Verda's necklace, the clasp and the damage from the dagger repaired, the gold polished and shining as it had when he had first laid eyes upon it. Removing it and setting the box aside, he leaned over Verda, placing it around her neck and straightening it before putting his lips to her forehead. Rising and retrieving the empty box he looked down upon her once more before leaving Odin to continue the vigil.

*************************************

Loki's other lay on his bunk in the dungeon, tossing a silver cup into the air and catching it. A table holding various books sat in the middle of the cell, a chair nearby. Hearing footsteps that he knew did not belong to an einherjar, Loki caught the cup once more then lowered his hand that held it as he sat up to see his double approach.

"Has she awakened?" Loki's other asked hopefully.

"No, not yet."

"I told her to leave me, to let me die. I'm afraid I wasn't in a position to do much to stop her."

"I've learned that when she's determined to do a thing, there's not much anyone, even myself, can do to dissuade her."

"She is not so different from ourselves it seems." Loki's other replied with a weak grin. "The enchantment...it was only so she would remember us, no more than that?"

"As I recall. It does appear its effects proved to be somewhat more than we had intended."

"So what's to be done with me? Am I to be brought before you in chains to be sentenced to the axe or to spend the remainder of my life here?"

"I would spare you that indignity. I believe there may be a better solution."

"And what would that be? Would you have father render me mortal, exile me to Midgard?" Loki's other queried.

"Is that your wish?' Loki asked.

"Heavens no. I would prefer the axe."

"Do you believe I would put to death one she was willing to give her life to preserve?"

"So it is to be exile then."

"Midgard is not such a bad place. Even without magical abilities mortals seem quite capable of fomenting more than enough mischief. They were doing so long before you came along." 

"Mother...I would like to see her. I wish to speak with her."

"I will tell her of your request." Loki said, turning away.

"Tell me...what was to happen...what was to become of me had she not appeared to me...had my future not been altered?" Loki's other asked. Loki turned back to face him.

"You don't want to know. It doesn't matter. All will now be different for both of us."


	26. Chapter 26

"Mr. Secretary…" Fury acknowledged the graying blond older man in the suit standing behind a desk as he entered the wood paneled office along with Hank Pym.

"We need to have a talk." Alexander Pierce, Secretary of the World Security Council said to Fury, sounding more than a bit tense and displeased with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing." Fury replied, he and Pym sitting in the two chairs in front of Pierce's desk.

"This was supposed to be a private meeting." Pierce eyed Pym.

"The prodigal son has returned home. Dr. Pym's been consulting with us on a project, one that's paramount for the future of S.H.I.E.L.D. He also assisted us in the search for the Tesseract."

"Which is precisely the reason I called you here. What the hell were you thinking? You just handed it over to him?"

"I didn't hand over shit. It was Rogers' call. I just didn't argue with him. He's seen the other side of the coin firsthand. We didn't walk away empty handed. The information Asgard's shared with us is going to keep us busy for a long time and solve some of the same problems. In fact I already have a team working through it, headed by one of the top physicists in the world who believes in what we're doing so much that he agreed to come on board even after we threw his ass in a cell." Fury paused for a moment, "It's time to move on to other things. Which is where Dr. Pym comes in…" Fury pulled the tablet from the inside pocket of his black leather coat, calling something up on its screen before setting it on Pierce's desk, pushing it towards him.

"What's this?" Pierce asked.

"Names...of Hydra agents that have infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D." Fury said as Pym stood "Guess who's name is at the top of the list."

Pym reached out, grabbing Pierce by the hair and slamming his face into the desktop. Stunned and dazed, Pierce began to raise his head, blood running from both nostrils of his nose as Fury made his way around the desk, taking hold of the back of Pierce's suit jacket and hauling him up out of his chair to his feet, kicking the chair aside as he moved Pierce's hands behind his back and cuffed him.

"How was that?" Pym asked.

"I'm gonna pull the cam footage...think I'm gonna kick back tonight, have a few drinks and watch it on a loop. You're welcome to join me." Fury replied to Pym.

"I might just take you up on that." Pym said as Fury pushed the still woozy Pierce forward towards the door.

*********************************

"I didn't know if you would come." Loki rose from the chair within the cell in which he sat, setting the book he had been reading aside on the small round table nearby as he saw Frigga approach the containment field of his cell. 

"I'm your mother, am I not?" Frigga replied as Loki approached the forcefield.

"No...you're not." Loki said, "I know nothing of my true mother. Do you?"

"No, I do not. Nor does your father."

"Knowing Laufey and Jotuns in general, it's doubtful she was allowed to live long after my birth. It seems from the moment I came into the universe I have heralded death." Loki paused for a moment before continuing, looking into Frigga's eyes. "It was I that murdered Thor." Frigga stood silent and stoic before finally responding to Loki's confession.

"Your will was not your own."

"It was not the first time I had attempted it. I committed other crimes in my own time before she came for me."

"I knew that your path would never be smooth. I always sensed your suffering, the conflict within you. I tried but I knew not what to do, how to help you. I could only love you and hope it would be enough."

"My guilt is not your burden to carry. I won't ask nor do I wish you to intercede on my behalf in what is to come. I'm likely to be exiled to Midgard to live out my days as a mortal man."

"It is a second chance." Frigga responded.

"What will I do as a mortal? I will be as helpless as a babe in arms." Loki said mournfully.

"There are some things that no one, even your father, can take from you. You will discover you are far more than your magic."

*********************************

Loki sat in the king's study off the throne room, the same book he had been reading as he sat on the throne previously open before him on the desk, the book he had purloined from the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility library, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

The somber expression on his face began to darken, his ability to attend to what he was reading disrupted by his thoughts. Placing his elbow on the desk, Loki rested his face in his hand, closing the book in frustration with a disgruntled sigh. Lowering his hand, Loki picked up the book and with a roar of anger flung it across the room where it struck the wall, falling to the floor. Grasping a mug that sat on the desk nearby he hurled it towards the wall as well sending broken shards flying to scatter on the floor. Loki swiftly rose from the chair, turning his back to the far wall, scanning for something else to destroy as an emotional release.

"Brother…" Loki heard Thor's voice, turning to see Thor standing inside the doorway, moving the hood of the cloak down to reveal his face. He looked to his right at the mess on the floor. "I assume there's been no change." Loki sank back into the chair, his shoulders slumped, his head bowed.

"No…"

"You must not-" Thor began.

"Give up hope…" Loki finished for him, "I know...I know. It's taking every ounce of my will not to go and throttle the life out of him. Would that be considered murder or suicide?" Loki once again put his elbow on the desk leaning his forehead against his hand. "In an hour I'm to officiate a marriage. How am I to do that when my own bride may never return?"

"I'm certain father would be happy to-"

"No...I'll manage..."

"Have you considered my suggestion?" Thor asked.

"I have. Are you certain? It's likely your path will now be different than it was to be. That in turn will likely alter other events. You know what it would mean." Loki said in a tone of warning.

"Yes, I do. It will not be easy, but it is for the best." Thor said before changing the subject. "What of the Tesseract?"

"In the coming days I will take it to Nidavellir to be cast into the heart of the dying star."

"And the Norn Stones?" inquired Thor.

"They must remain here and where no one can find them. I will deal with them as well."

"You must know….there is another Infinity Stone on Midgard, the Time Stone. Thanos may yet come to Midgard to claim it."

"Where is it?" Loki asked, his countenance changing to one of concern.

"A place known as Kamar-Taj. Those who make it their home are sorcerers. They are sworn to protect it. They make use of it to prevent mystical forces from invading and destroying earth. I would not advise simply taking it from them."

"I was not aware Midgard had sorcerers...do they know of us, I mean at this point in time?"

"I believe so."

"I will seek to meet with them and warn them of Thanos and come to an arrangement." Loki responded. 

"I have come to ask a favor of you, brother."

"What is it?" Loki asked, curious.

"Seeing as my time remaining on Asgard is limited...there are places I would like to revisit one last time. I have asked Sif to accompany me..."

"Say no more." Loki said before casting an illusion over Thor, changing his appearance.

"Thank you."

"You have spent much time with her since Verda brought you here. I am concerned for her when you return. Her grief at your death was profound...though I suppose that's true of everyone."

"She is strong. She will persevere." Thor replied, though his expression conveyed that he had been contemplating the same issue.

*********************************

Loki stood in the throne room in the same spot in which Odin had stood as Loki and Verda had made their vows. In their place now stood two other Asgardians, the woman in a lovely golden colored gown, her betrothed in equally formal attire. A small crowd of supporters stood nearby.

Loki fought to keep his expression from giving away the melancholy he felt as the pair recited the traditional promises to each other. As he wrapped the gold cord from the bride's to the groom's wrist and proclaimed that they forever after belonged to each other, his eyes caught sight of Frigga entering the throne room from the entrance across from that which led to his study.

Uneasy, as his mother would generally not interrupt an audience unless it concerned a matter of great importance, he attempted to discern any clue from her face or body language as to the reason for her presence. As the newly wed couple were being congratulated by their family and friends in attendance, Loki, his part in the proceedings now completed, excused himself and crossed the throne room to meet his mother.

"Verda...? Has something happened?" Loki asked anxiously. Without giving Loki an answer, Frigga embraced Loki.

Now more disquieted than before, Loki returned the embrace before moving Frigga back to question her further. As he did so he felt his heart skip a beat as Frigga's form changed into that of Verda.

"Surprise…" Verda said with a grin. Loki stood stunned for a moment, but only for a moment.

"Verda!" Loki cried ecstatically, swiftly pulling her back into another enthusiastic embrace as the real Frigga also stepped smiling through the doorway.

*********************************

Loki rose from where he lay staring at the ceiling in the bunk in his cell as two einherjar made their way to his cell, looking in their direction and noticing the shackles held in the hand of one of them. He languidly crossed the cell to meet them as they stopped before the containment field.

"So the time has come. So be it." Loki said. Taking a steadying breath, he held his arms out in front of him as one of the einherjar lowered the field, the other with the shackles placing them on Loki's wrists. Each of the einherjar grasped one of Loki's arms, leading him towards the stairway.

*********************************

Thor, Loki, Verda and Sif stood before the pool in the garden as the two einherjar approached, Loki's other between them, a look of confusion on his face. He had expected to be escorted across the Rainbow Bridge to Himinbjorg where Odin would be waiting to use the dark magic to transform him once again, as he had done upon finding him as an infant, this time into a mortal, which would in turn relieve him of his magical abilities, before Heimdall would send him into exile on Midgard.

"Why have I been brought here?" Loki's other asked as one of the einherjar removed his shackles.

"You are to return with me to New Asgard." Thor informed him.

"With you...?"

"I trust you will behave yourself in the future." Loki said, his use of the word 'future' being quite literal.

"Define 'behave.'" Loki's other answered.

"Let's keep it simple and begin by not attempting to conquer the planet." Loki responded.

"Agreed."

Sif turned to Thor, this time making no attempt to hold back the tears in her eyes.

"I will miss you." Sif said, her voice quavering.

"And I you, Lady Sif. I thank you for your sword and your company." Sif threw her arms around Thor who returned her embrace. Separating, Thor took Sif's hand in his own, kissing it.

"Are you ready?" Verda asked both Loki's other and Thor. "Each of you take hold of my arms." Verda directed them. Both took their place on either side of Verda, Verda leading them into the pool, the stones clutched in her right hand. Loki, who had already said his final goodbyes to his brother in private before they had made their way to the gardens, watched Thor disappear along with Verda and his other under the water.

"Thor asked me to give this to you." Loki said to Sif, handing her a folded piece of paper that appeared to be sealed with a wax seal.

*********************************

The chill wind off the sea lifted Verda's hair from her shoulders as she approached the cairn. Thor was not there which was unusual as he usually met her for her daily visit. She waited a few moments, looking around before deciding to go on without him.

Kneeling before the cairn, Verda reached out, straightening the clay figure of Loki she had sculpted and painted that rested against its base and arranged the flowers she had left the day before that still appeared relatively fresh back around it before bowing her head.

"Guardian of souls, as Loki has come to you, know that he was loved. He was a soaring spirit and a brave warrior. Watch over him and welcome him with honor and glory. Loki, son of Odin, I bid you to take your place in the halls of Valhalla-"

"Where the brave live forever." both she and another voice, not Thor's this time finished, though it was a voice she recognized. Raising her head in shock, her eyes wide, she turned as she rose quickly to her feet to see Loki standing behind her in the same spot Thor had stood on the first day she had met the God of Thunder there. Verda's hand flew to her mouth as she gasped. "Hello. Verda...that is your name?" Loki asked.

Verda stood as if frozen for a moment before slowly lowering her hand, her eyes still wide as she stared at the man she had believed to be long dead. She then recalled the strange sense of his presence she had experienced since the afternoon of the day before that she had been unable to explain. She had half expected to see his specter since then, however, the man who stood before her now did not appear to be in the form of a spiritual visitor, but solid and alive.

"Yes…" Verda answered finally.

"I'm Loki."

"I know who you are." Verda replied.

"It looks as though you will now need to find something else to do to occupy your time. Perhaps I can be of assistance." Loki said, holding out his hand, Verda staring at it before reaching out and taking it, leading her closer to him before he released her hand, embracing her. Verda, still in shock, returned the embrace, wrapping her arms as tightly around him as she had done that day in the forest after Loki had rescued her from the pit.

Looking past Loki over his shoulder, her vision blurred by her tears, she noticed Thor standing near the road a few yards away. He raised his hand in greeting, though he knew in a sense it was also a farewell, before turning and walking away.


	27. Epilogue

Sif sat near the burning cauldron in her chambers. After Thor's presence within them in recent days, his departure left them feeling desolate and empty. To Sif it was as if he had died for the second time. For hours she had left the letter unread. To draw it out, to not know his final words to her in a sense kept a part of him alive. In the end however, she had to know what it was he had to say to her that he felt he could not tell her during the time they'd had together. She now held the letter in her hand after having finally broken the seal and read its contents.

In it he had explained to her how he had suppressed his feelings for her, did his best to see himself as an older brother figure and her the sister he was to guide and encourage, otherwise he knew that if he were to become king in the future and she his queen, she would have to set aside her life as a warrior that he knew she had worked so hard to achieve. He could not take that from her. Perhaps there had been a small grain of truth in what Lorelei had said, Sif thought.

Standing, Sif moved the folded paper to her lips before placing it into the fire.

***************************************

"So...what did you think?" Loki asked as he and Verda walked arm and arm past the towering golden statue of Thor that had just been unveiled that morning after leaving the open air theater where they had watched the play Loki had promised him, commemorating him.

"It was...interesting." Verda answered.

"Interesting…" Loki repeated.

"He would have liked it very much, though I don't believe those were likely his final words to you on his deathbed. There was some dialogue I spoke to you I don't recall taking place as well...though I admit my memory may be faulty."

"I took some dramatic license, of course…" Loki responded.

"Of course. The actress portraying myself--" Verda began.

"I believe she captured your essence quite well."

"She was very good, though a bit more...liberally endowed." said Verda, glancing sideways at Loki.

"I cast her solely for her talent on the stage."

"I'm sure." Verda said, though it was clear from her tone she was not wholly convinced.

"We should change into something more comfortable for the revels." suggested Loki, as they had both dressed in formal attire as was fitting to their position for the public presentation of the monument and the theatrical production.

"I'm afraid I won't be joining you." Verda said. Loki looked over at her, noticing that she appeared a touch pale and tired.

"Are you not well?" Loki asked, concerned.

"No, I'm fine. It's just been a long day. I'm feeling a bit worn down. I'm also afraid I wouldn't be much fun seeing as I'd be unable to participate in the principal activity."

"What do you…" Loki began to ask before breaking off as Verda looked over at him with a smile. Loki's brain began to put the pieces together. "You mean….you're…we're…" Loki stammered.

"Yes." Verda replied. Loki grabbed Verda, excitedly lifting her off her feet, laughing joyfully as he spun her around. "Loki! Loki..stop! " Verda squealed. Loki quickly put her down, steadying her as she swayed dizzily.

"I'm sorry. I suppose I shouldn't-" Loki apologized before Verda interrupted him.

"It's alright." Verda laughed. "Just be thankful I haven't eaten recently...you'd be changing for another reason."

"Why didn't you tell me before? We could have made the announcement before the performance."

"It's a bit early yet. I thought it best to wait before making any formal announcement. I didn't want to overshadow the celebrations for Thor. Besides, I know you're always looking for reasons to hold revels."

"You know me too well." Loki responded with a grin.

"I most certainly do. I also thought it would be nice for it to just be between us, our secret, for a little while. Most everything we do and say is known by everyone. Sometimes I wish we could go back to that little cabin in the forest on Vanaheim, live out our lives there, just the two of us...three now I suppose...and however many more in the future...I suppose we'd need a bigger cabin..."

"You're still unhappy as queen." Loki said, troubled.

"No...not really. I'm getting used to it. I actually enjoy parts of it. I just worry...we've both said we wish for more than one. You have said how you and Thor became rivals, what that led to that you experienced in your visions...I don't want that to happen."

"I've considered that myself. I'll speak with my father."

"You should include your mother as well in that conversation...and perhaps myself."

"Yes...of course. I believe the time has come to dispense with certain traditions."

***************************************

"Erik Selvig…" Loki, appearing to be dressed in the clothing of a mortal, of course of his favored hue, said as he rose from the booth in the bar in Puente Antiguo to greet Selvig as he approached, the two men shaking hands.

"Loki! It's good to see you again." Selvig said with a wide grin as both men seated themselves.

"How goes your work?" Loki asked.

"Very well...extraordinarily well, actually. It's going to take awhile to work through all you've given us." Selvig answered happily.

"It was Verda's idea...to give you the information to begin to unlock those secrets yourselves over time. She thought it would be better that way."

"She's not joining us?" Selvig asked.

"Oh...no...it has been some time since we last spoke. She sends her regards. I must have forgotten to mention it when I invited you here. Things have been quite hectic as of late. She recently gave birth to our first child."

"Congratulations! Boy or girl?" Selvig asked.

"A son...Thor, in honor of my brother." Loki replied.

"So I guess you figured it out." Selvig said.

"What have I figured out?" Loki asked, puzzled.

"The first time we were here, the day we first met. You said you were still figuring it out...what loving someone means."

"Oh...yes." Loki answered. He was surprised Selvig remembered such detail of their conversation, Selvig having been obviously drunk at the time.

"I suppose I'm figuring it out too. I've met someone as well...Lynn. She's a physicist like myself. She's working with S.H.I.E.L.D. along with me. She originally worked for N.A.S.A. I guess we'll see where it goes."

"What of Jane and Darcy?"

"She's taken a position in London teaching part time while she continues her research. Darcy went with her as a graduate assistant. She's met someone too. He's a doctor, I don't recall what specialty."

Loki looked across the bar towards the door he had been keeping an eye on since his arrival for both Selvig as well as the man who now entered, a gift wrapped package tucked under his arm.

"Excuse me a moment." Loki said to Selvig, leaving the booth and walking to the entrance, greeting Stark and leading him back to the booth and introducing him to Selvig who slid over to make room for Stark to sit.

"Is it just you? None of the others are coming?" Loki asked as Stark sat down next to Selvig.

"Barton and Romanoff are off somewhere playing Robin Hood and Little John on some assignment. Banner doesn't drink...for obvious reasons, but he said to tell you hello and to pass on his congratulations. Rogers...not sure why he bowed out...something Coulson told him...oh, and the fact he can't get drunk...I guess there is a downside to being a nearly indestructible super soldier." Stark said before handing the package to Loki, "For the kid. I don't know what it is, Pepper bought it so I'm sure it's something nice."

"Thank you. I'll let Verda open it." Loki said, "Let us have that drink now."

***************************************

Loki walked in the darkness from the Rainbow Bridge to the palace, the package Stark had given him tucked under his arm. Passing the statue of Thor he stopped in front of it, looking up at it before ensuring there was no one else nearby. Passing his hand over the base of the statue, the door to a compartment appeared. Opening it, Loki reached in, removing the leather bag containing the Norn Stones. Emptying the bag into his hand, he examined them for a moment before replacing them in the bag and back into the compartment before disguising it once again.

***************************************

Loki entered his and Verda's chambers, the room lit by the dancing flames of the cauldrons, as Verda rose from the armchair, the infant Thor swaddled in a blanket in her arms.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Verda asked.

"Yes, a good time was had by all. Next time we will go together. You didn't have to wait up for me."

"I wasn't planning to. Someone else had other ideas. He just went back to sleep. I was about to put him back down." Verda said. "What's that?" she asked, noticing the gift he held in his hand.

"A gift, from Stark. I thought I'd let you open it."

Loki approached Verda, reaching out and taking the infant from her as he handed her the package, doing his best not to wake the sleeping baby. Verda opened the box, revealing a blue blanket embroidered with a crown and the words, "Little Prince."

"It's adorable."

"Go to bed. I'll join you shortly." Loki told her before kissing her. Verda made her way to the doorway leading to the bedchambers, the blanket over her arm.

Loki walked across the room to the balcony, stepping out onto it, peering in the darkness out over Asgard. Loki thought once more of his visions of the future and how different was the trajectory his life had now taken. All was quiet and peaceful, but would it remain so? Looking down at his newborn son slumbering in his arms, he knew he would do whatever it took to put an end to any threat to that peace as his own father had done. .

It then hit him like a bolt out of the blue. The pain, the loneliness, the self loathing he had carried in his heart for so long had flown. Selvig was right, he had 'figured it out.' He was Loki, son of Odin, King of Asgard...and of course, the God of Mischief, as Verda had been reminded that morning upon opening her trunk to find a mass of twisting, writhing likjs.

"So what surprise shall we spring on your mother tomorrow to keep her on her toes?" Loki said quietly to the sleeping baby Thor.

The End


End file.
